Electric cab service BluSmart suspends operations as SEBI investigates co-founder

Electric cab operator BluSmart has suspended services, days after the Securities and Exchange Board of India accused its co-founder Anmol Jaggi of diverting funds meant for vehicle purchases to buy a luxury apartment, reported Reuters.

The abrupt shutdown left thousands of BluSmart drivers without work.

“We’ve decided to temporarily close bookings on the BluSmart app,” the company said in an e-mail to customers on Thursday, without providing any reasons.

Although the app remained available to download, users were unable to select pick up time slots, indicating that services were unavailable in most parts of major cities including Delhi-National Capital Region and Bengaluru.

The suspension came two days after the Securities and Exchange Board of India barred Anmol Jaggi and his brother Puneet Jaggi from the stock market and ordered a forensic investigation into their listed solar energy company Gensol, which leased electric vehicles to BluSmart.

Anmol Jaggi is one of several co-founders of BluSmart and the managing director of Gensol.

SEBI said there was a “complete breakdown of internal controls and corporate governance norms in Gensol”.

The regulatory body alleged that “funds availed by Gensol as loans for procuring EVs were, through layered transactions, partly utilised for buying a high-end apartment in The Camellias, DLF [a condominium in Gurugram]” for $5 million.

Other alleged diversions included the...

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