Who is Rahul Yadav, Housing.com founder facing FIR for fraud?

Info Edge, the parent company of Naukri.com which also holds a 65 per cent stake in 4B Networks, has filed an FIR against Rahul Yadav, the head of 4B Networks and founder of Housing.com.

Info Edge made the announcement in a stock exchange filing on November 30. Not only Yadav, Info Edge has named several key executives of 4B Networks in the FIR.

What is the dispute about?

The trouble reportedly began in early 2023 when Info Edge sought some crucial financial information from 4B Networks and the latter repeatedly failed to provide it. Following that, in June 2023, Info Edge initiated a forensic audit suspecting financial irregularities.

Info Edge had reportedly invested Rs 280 crore in 4B Networks, including Rs 275 crore in shares and Rs 12 crore as loan. Despite this considerable financial support, 4B Networks reportedly defaulted on salary and vendor payments, with serious lapses in corporate governance coming to the fore. Broker Network, a unit of 4B Networks, was reportedly on the verge of collapse.

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Yadav had also proposed a Rs 50-crore investment to a Dubai-based property dealer for additional funding. However, the offer came at a severely reduced valuation at 99 per cent lower than the previous funding round, triggering further tensions with Info Edge.

Info Edge finally withdrew its entire investment, citing a lack of confidence in 4B Networks’ financial health. The current FIR, filed on November 29, accuses Yadav and others of fraudulent activities involving company funds.

What is the charge against Rahul Yadav?

Yadav has been accused of misusing the funding he got for the startup. He allegedly transferred a chunk of it to a startup owned by his wife Karishma Khokhar, paid huge amounts as deposits for office spaces, and lent big sums to former employees.

He is reportedly being probed by the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police.

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Who is Rahul Yadav?

Yadav, best known for being the founder of Housing.com, was born in a middle-class family in Khairtal, Rajasthan, in 1989.

He enrolled in IIT-Bombay in 2007 but soon started his journey as an entrepreneur with Exambaba.com, an online bank of old question papers.

He dropped out of IIT in his final year and continued with his entrepreneurial stints. He went on to co-found Housing.com in 2012 with an investment from SoftBank.

However, in 2015, he was fired from Housing.com, reportedly due to bad behaviour with co-founders, media, and investors.

His other venture, Intelligent Interfaces, has also faced challenges related to governance and financial management.

Yadav is married to Karishma Khokhar — an investment banker with an engineering background and an MBA in Finance.