INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The head of Flipkart Group, Binny Bansal, has resigned following an internal probe into "serious personal misconduct", US-based Walmart -
the main shareholder of Flipkart - said on Tuesday, and two people familiar with the matter said it involved an accusation of sexual
to compete with Amazon.com Inc in the country's huge consumer market.In a letter sent to Flipkart employees, which was seen by news agency
Reuters, Mr Bansal did not give details of the nature of the accusations, but said he strongly denied them and that they were uncorroborated
after an investigation completed by an independent law firm."The allegations left me stunned," said Mr Bansal, who was chief executive of
the Flipkart Group from January last year."The investigation, however, did bring to light lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of
transparency, related to how I responded to the situation," he said.Neither Mr Bansal nor his representatives responded to requests for
Flipkart did not respond to requests for comment.Walmart said in a filing that the investigation concluded without finding evidence to
support the accusations against Mr Bansal
complainant's assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny
responded to the situation." Walmart said
"Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign."One person familiar with the matter said that "in late July, between (the) time
of announcement (of Walmart's purchase of Flipkart) and closure an allegation came to us
It was a claim of sexual assault against Binny.""The investigation could not corroborate the allegation," but it did reveal a lack of
transparency on Binny's part, the person said.The alleged incident happened a few years ago and the accusation was made by a former
associate, who was not with Flipkart at the time, the person added.Walmart paid $16 billion for a roughly 77 per cent stake in Flipkart in
The investment is the US retailer's largest-ever acquisition and was a major move in its efforts to oppose Amazon at home and abroad, where
it has been struggling.Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who heads the company's main Flipkart e-commerce operation, would now act as chief executive
for a broader group of businesses including apparel websites Myntra and Jabong, Walmart saidWalmart has said it may float Flipkart publicly
within the next four years and Mr Bansal's departure follows that of co-founder and former Amazon colleague Sachin Bansal, who left when the
deal was sealed.Accelerated transitionWalmart said Binny Bansal had been contemplating a transition for some time and that the companies had
been working together on a succession plan, which had now been accelerated.Ananth Narayanan, who is the CEO of Myntra and Jabong, will
continue in those roles and will now report to Krishnamurthy.Flipkart began as an online bookstore and now sells consumer goods ranging from
soaps to smartphones and clothes
It is the largest player in an Indian e-commerce market that could be worth $200 billion within a decade.Its divisions include Flipkart,
Myntra, Jabong and payments app PhonePe.
