New Delhi: Following the support of Singapore state investment firm Temasek for an investigation into Zilingo’s accounting practices, the fashion technology startup said it is working closely with its major investors and an independent firm on the investigation. “The company’s major investors authorized the board to suspend the CEO, Ankiti Bose, pending an investigation of the matters raised,” Zilingo Pte said in a statement.
It did not, however, go into detail about the investigation.
“The major investors have hired an independent firm to investigate the matter,” it said, adding that “the company is working closely with the major investors and the independent firm for the investigation.”
It insisted that proper due process had been followed and would be followed in the future.
Temasek said in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, “We expect our portfolio companies to follow good corporate governance practices as well as codes of conduct and ethics. As a result, we support the board’s investigation into the complaint as part of good governance to protect the company’s interests.”
This is the second investment firm to speak out in favor of a strong governance framework, following Sequoia India, which is also an investor in Zilingo.
The statement comes after Zilingo’s board of directors suspended co-founder Ankiti Bose on March 31 pending an investigation.
Shailendra Singh of Sequoia Capital India has also resigned from Zilingo’s board of directors following questions about the fashion technology startup’s accounting practices.
“Given the current circumstances at Zilingo, the fund thought it appropriate to change its nominee on the board to have representation with relevant experience that the company requires at this juncture,” a Sequoia India spokesperson said of Shailendra Singh’s resignation.
Zilingo, a fashion merchant platform backed by Singaporean state-owned investor Temasek Holdings, was co-founded in 2015 by CEO Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, the company’s chief technology and chief product officer.
According to sources, Singh resigned as a director a few days ago, following the departures of Temasek Holding Pet’s Xu Wei Yang and Burda Principal Investments Ltd’s Albert Shyy.
According to reports, the investigation is looking into how Zilingo accounted for transactions and revenue across a platform that includes thousands of small merchants.
Zilingo’s investors include Burda Principal and Singapore’s Economic Development Board’s investment arm, EDBI, in addition to Temasek and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. It was not immediately clear how much stock each investor possessed in the company.
