Vaibhav Pandya, the stepbrother of Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya and his brother Krunal Pandya, has been arrested on suspicion of defrauding the two cricketers. It is claimed that Vaibhav deceived the duo out of more than Rs 4.3 crore through a polymer business venture.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police apprehended Vaibhav on various charges including criminal breach of trust, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, forgery, and other relevant sections.
So, who exactly is Vaibhav Pandya? He is an entrepreneur who established a partnership-based firm in Mumbai and initiated a polymer business in 2021. According to partnership terms, the 37-year-old contributed 20% of the capital, while the siblings each invested 40%.
The arrangement dictated that Vaibhav would manage the day-to-day operations, and profits would be distributed accordingly. However, Vaibhav allegedly established another company in the same industry without informing his stepbrothers, thereby violating the partnership agreement. Consequently, the profits of the original firm dwindled, leading to an estimated loss of approximately Rs 3 crore.
During this period, it is claimed that Vaibhav boosted his own profit share from 20% to 33.3%, exacerbating the financial harm to Hardik and Krunal Pandya. Moreover, he purportedly diverted funds from the partnership account to his personal one, amounting to around Rs 1 crore.
When confronted by the cricketers, Vaibhav allegedly resorted to threats aimed at damaging their reputation. This situation unfolded despite the trio having jointly founded a polymer company three years prior, with Vaibhav overseeing operations and the Pandya brothers collectively investing 80% of the business’s capital.
Vaibhav’s purported actions involved breaching the terms of the partnership agreement, initiating a competing business covertly, manipulating profit shares to his advantage, and misappropriating funds from the partnership account. These alleged deeds inflicted financial losses on Hardik and Krunal Pandya, leading to his subsequent arrest by the authorities.
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