How Jaggi brothers destroyed BluSmart, rival of Uber, after misusing company money
BluSmart, an electric taxi service in India, has stopped taking bookings, leaving both customers and drivers confused and worried.
The company didn’t explain why, but this happened just a few days after a big investigation found that one of its co-founders, Anmol Jaggi, misused company money.
In an e-mail to customers on Thursday, BluSmart said: “We’ve decided to temporarily close bookings on the BluSmart app", without giving any reasons.
Anmol Jaggi, who helped start BluSmart and also runs another company called Gensol, is in trouble with India’s market regulator (SEBI).
Gensol was supposed to buy electric cars for BluSmart, but the money was used instead to buy a luxury apartment in one of India’s most expensive buildings — The Camellias.
SEBI says there were serious problems with how the companies were being run, including a lack of proper financial controls.
BluSmart has over 8,000 electric taxis in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Many drivers depend on it for their income.
Customers who had money in their BluSmart app wallets are now worried about getting refunds. The company said it will return money within 90 days only if services don’t start again before then.
BluSmart had been growing fast, even competing with Uber and Ola, but this sudden halt puts its future at risk.
SEBI has barred brothers Anmol and Puneet Jaggi from the stock market and ordered a forensic investigation of their listed solar energy company in Mumbai, Gensol, which used to procure electric vehicles and then lease them for the ride-hailing service.Gensol says it will follow the rules and cooperate.
BluSmart hasn’t responded to questions from the media yet.
With inputs from Reuters
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