Binny Bansal resigns from Flipkart following allegations of 'personal misconduct'

Binny Bansal, Flipkart's Co-founder and group CEO, has resigned from the ecommerce company with immediate effect following an investigation into allegations of personal misconduct, Walmart said in a statement.

In the statement, Walmart said, "His decision follows an independent investigation done on behalf of Flipkart and Walmart into an allegation of serious personal misconduct. He strongly denies the allegation."

“Nevertheless, we had a responsibility to ensure the investigation was deliberate and thorough. While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the 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. Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign,” Walmart added.

Walmart had late last year acquired 77-percent stake in Flipkart for $16 billion, valuing the ecommerce giant at $20 billion. Of this, $2 billion was the actual investment in the company and the rest of the money was spent to buy out other stakeholders.

SoftBank Vision Fund, one of Flipkart's largest investors, recently said it had realised a gain of Rs 9,457.8 crore on selling its stake in Flipkart Private Limited. It also said it recorded a capital gain tax Rs 4,184 crore for the share transfer deal that concluded in August this year.

Bansal reportedly holds 5-6 percent in the joint entity.

Referring to Binny as an important part of Flipkart, Walmart said recent events risked becoming a distraction and hence Binny had taken the decision to step down. Walmart also said in its statement that Binny had been contemplating a transition for some time and the conglomerate had been working on a succession plan, which has now been accelerated.

Kalyan Krishnamurthy will continue to be CEO of Flipkart, which includes Myntra and Jabong.

Flipkart recorded GMV of $7.5 billion in the just-concluded fiscal, with net sales of $4.6 billion.

Also read: Binny Bansal rewinds to the beginning of Flipkart, and a future without Sachin Bansal