Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal resigns following probe into personal misconduct

The chief executive and co-founder of Walmart’s Indian venture Flipkart Group, Binny Bansal, has resigned following a probe into serious personal misconduct, Walmart Inc said in a regulatory filing on 13 November.

Bansal has strongly denied the allegations, the company said in a statement. Bansal and his representatives could not be reached for comment.

“While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgement, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Binny responded to the situation,” the company said.

“Because of this, we have accepted his decision to resign.”

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, the company said.

Walmart earlier this year agreed to pay $16 billion for a roughly 77 percent stake in the Indian e-commerce firm, Amazon’s main rival for India’s 1.3 billion consumers.

It was the US retailer’s largest-ever deal and a major move in its efforts to oppose Amazon at home and abroad.