Walmart said on Tuesday that the co-founder and CEO of Indian e-commerce leader Flipkart Group has stepped down in the wake of allegations of “serious personal misconduct,” creating tumult at a company it recently paid $16 billion for to get a leg up in one of the most promising e-commerce markets in the world.
Binny Bansal, 37, resigned immediately after an independent probe into the unspecified allegations that he “strongly” denies, Walmart Inc said in a statement, adding that his wanting response to the accusations was behind his departure.
“While the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the complainant’s assertions against Binny, it did reveal other lapses in judgment,” Walmart said in the statement. It did not detail those lapses.
In May, Walmart bought a 77% in Flipkart, India’s biggest digital commerce player, for a $16 billion, by far its biggest acquisition ever and one that dwarfed its $3 billion purchase of jet.com in 2016. Walmart’s move was part of its strategy to concentrate its international business in promising countries like India and China and reduce its exposure to stagnant ones like Brazil, and outmaneuver Amazon.com.
