Amarendra Sahu, co-founder and former CEO of India’s home rental startup NestAway Technologies, has filed a criminal complaint against several investors and co-founders of the company of fraud, forgery, and intimidation related to the firm’s 2023 sale.

NestAway, which offers furnished rental homes, was sold to Aurum PropTech for 90 crore rupees (around US$10.4 million) in June 2023.

Sahu, who owned a 5% stake, alleges that investors – including Tiger Global, Chiratae Ventures, Goldman Sachs, and Schroders Adveq – engaged in unethical practices during the transaction.

Sahu claims that the investors promised him an additional 11.72 crore rupees (around US$1.3 million) through a side deal to secure his consent for the sale.

He asserts that representatives from Chiratae Ventures assured him the payout was binding via email and WhatsApp, but the payment was never fulfilled. Chiratae Ventures has declined to comment, citing the case’s sub-judice status.

The fraud allegations include claims of forgery, where Sahu alleges his signature was misused on sale documents after he resigned as a director in June 2023. He also accuses Tiger Global’s Deep Varma and Chiratae’s Kailash Nath of coercion and threats to compel him to sell his shares and resign.

Co-founder Jitendra Jagdev, now the CEO of NestAway, is accused of collaborating with investors to exclude Sahu from the sale process. Sahu alleges that Jagdev shared confidential company data with Aurum PropTech and pursued separate negotiations.

The accused parties have denied any wrongdoing. A representative from Chiratae Ventures described the allegations as baseless and malicious. Jagdev claimed that Sahu’s accusations followed an earlier dismissal of similar claims by the National Company Law Tribunal in Bengaluru.

The case is under investigation by the economic offences wing in Bhubaneswar.