Vaibhav Pandya reportedly broke an agreement between the brothers by forming his own proprietorship firm in the same business while keeping Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya in the dark.
The Mumbai police have arrested Vaibhav Pandya, the stepbrother of cricketer Hardik Pandya, for allegedly defrauding the all-rounder and his brother Krunal of approximately Rs 4.25 crore.
According to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), the Pandya brothers established a polymer business enterprise in 2021, with Vaibhav in charge of day-to-day operations.
Vaibhav reportedly violated the brothers’ agreement by establishing his own proprietorship firm in the same business (under someone else’s name), keeping the two brothers in the dark.
“Later, Vaibhav reportedly siphoned funds from the LLP (limited liability partnership) to his own business. The partnership firm’s profits gradually decreased. Furthermore, in addition to his rightful part, Vaibhav reportedly fraudulently increased his profit percentage in the LLP business without informing the two brothers. For this, he reportedly faked the Pandya brothers’ signatures on an LLP agreement,” an officer involved in the investigation told the media.
When the Mumbai Indians skipper and Krunal Pandya discovered this, one of them approached Vaibhav, who warned him of serious repercussions, according to the officer. Vaibhav has been charged with defrauding, criminal breach of trust, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and criminal intimidation, among other offences under the Indian Penal Code.
The EOW of Mumbai police apprehended Vaibhav on April 8 and brought him before a court, which sentenced him to police detention till April 12.
According to an officer, police assume that other people were involved in supporting Vaibhav in the crime and want to make more arrests once their roles in the case are determined.
