FIR lodged against co-founders of Shopclues in alleged fraud

New Delhi: An FIR has been filed against two co-founders of online shopping firm 'Shopclues' on a complaint lodged by its founder Sandeep Aggarwal, who alleged in a city court that he has been cheated by them.

Aggarwal's wife Radhika and Sanjay Sethi, chief business officer and CEO respectively of 'shopclues.Com', have been booked by the police following a specific order of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sandeep Garg to register the FIR against the two co-founders.

The court held that "a prima facie case for commission of cognisable offences is made out."

The complainant had approached the court through advocate Vijay Aggarwal, alleging that his wife and his friend Sethi had conspired together and fabricated several documents to gain control over the company.

"They took his signatures on wrong papers and committed forgery to usurp the company," the counsel said.

The founder claimed that while he was facing charges of insider trading in a separate case in the United States, Radhika and Sethi had hatched a criminal conspiracy along with other unknown persons to oust him from his own firm Shopclues which was launched in India in 2011.

According to the FIR, the FBI and Department of Justice of the USA had in July 2013 booked Sandeep Aggarwal on charges of insider trading,for which he had to remain in that country.

Taking opportunity of this situation, the accused made the complainant distance himself from the company's affairs, the FIR said.

The FIR has been lodged for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, forgery and cheating under the Indian Penal Code.

Aggarwal has stated that he was the original founder and visionary behind Shopclues, an online marketplace, which connects customers to sellers.

He said he had handed over the reins of the company to his wife in 2013 because of the case against him in the USA.