Not much had moved in the case between Info Edge and Rahul Yadav over the last year, but Info Edge seems to be pursuing its legal options once again.
Info Edge has filed an FIR against former Housing.com founder Rahul Yadav over fraud relating to his new company, 4B Networks. “We would like to inform you that pursuant to a complaint filed by AIPL, a first information report (“FIR”) has been registered by the Bandra Police Station (Mumbai Police) on November 29, 2024 against Mr. Rahul Yadav, Mr. Devesh Singh, Mr. Pratik Choudhary, Mr. Sanjay Saini (and unnamed others) in connection with 4B Networks (an indirect subsidiary of the Company), alleging inter alia commitment of certain fraudulent acts involving 4B Networks’ funds,” Info Edge told stock exchanges. “There shall be no material financial impact or effect on the Company’s business operations on account of the FIR,” it added.
Info Edge had been the biggest investor in Rahul Yadav’s new venture named 4B Networks and had put in Rs. 280 crore into the company in June 2022. But soon after in February 2023, it marked down its investment to zero after the company suddenly ran out of money. Info Edge had then initiated a forensic audit of the company, and in July had initiated legal action against Rahul Yadav for being unwilling to share financial information on how the money was spent.
Info Edge has now filed a FIR against Rahul Yadav more than year after first initiating legal action. This isn’t the first FIR filed against Rahul Yadav for his role as founder of 4B Networks — last year, the Economic Offences Wing had also filed an FIR against Yadav for allegedly cheating an advertising firm of Rs. 10 crore, and had also issued a lookout notice against him. Yadav had filed anticipatory bail in the case.
The latest FIR continues the dramatic fall from grace of Rahul Yadav, who was once the poster boy of India’s fledgling startup ecosystem. He had co-founded CEO of Housing.com, which had looked to disrupt India’s real estate sector when it was founded in 2014. Yadav regularly made headlines for his bold moves, his tiffs with investors, and giving away all his equity to employees, but was unceremoniously fired as CEO by the board and escorted out of Housing.com’s offices. Yadav had then tried launching a few startups, and even managed to get cricketer Yuvraj Singh on board as an investor, but didn’t find much success. Yadav then disappeared from the startup scene, and took up a job with real estate firm Anarock. In 2020, he quietly founded 4B Networks, and managed to bring onboard one of India’s foremost investing firms, Info Edge, as an investor.
But this partnership too has spectacularly imploded, and Info Edge has now filed an FIR against Yadav for fraud. It remains to be seen what action is taken on the FIR, but Yadav’s torrid run in the Indian startup ecosystem is continuing well into his second startup.