'Victim of current scenario': Ashneer Grover defends Rs 1.5 crore Blusmart investment amid Sebi crackdown

Ashneer Grover, co-founder of BharatPe and a personal investor in BluSmart, has spoken out following the Sebi crackdown on Gensol Engineering and the sudden suspension of operations by EV cab service provider, calling himself a “victim” of the situation.
Grover revealed that he had invested Rs 1.5 crore in BluSmart and Rs 25 lakh in Matrix, expressing concern over the company's current troubles. “Dragging my and my company’s name in this Gensol/BluSmart fiasco is rather shameful,” he said in a public statement. “In fact, I am the ‘victim’ of the current scenario, having personally invested in BluSmart.”
" I am the ‘victim’ of the current scenario having personally invested Rs 1.5 cr in BluSmart and Rs 0.25 cr in Matrix. I hope the business / company can survive the current fiasco for sake of its stakeholders," he added to his a post on X.
Emphasizing that he holds no operational role in either Gensol or BluSmart, Grover clarified that he was simply a shareholder and not involved in any managerial or financial decisions. He added that he hoped BluSmart could survive the current crisis “for the sake of its stakeholders.”
Grover also offered to make his bank account and tax return details public to prove the legitimacy of his involvement. He underscored that in a private limited company, it is the responsibility of incoming shareholders to declare their source of funds, not the company's obligation to verify them. “A private limited company is not liable for the conduct of shareholders or for ascertaining their source of funds,” he stated.
Background: SEBI crackdown and BluSmart service shutdown
The controversy began after a SEBI investigation levelled serious financial misconduct by Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi, co-founders of Gensol Engineering. The probe revealed that the promoters had diverted a significant portion of company funds—originally meant for purchasing electric vehicles for BluSmart—towards personal gains.
This included buying a luxury apartment in Gurugram, inflating Gensol’s stock prices through manipulated trades, and using company funds for unrelated personal expenses. The investigation also flagged forged documents and violations of corporate governance norms. In response, SEBI barred both promoters from the securities market and ordered a forensic audit of Gensol’s financial records.