B2B marketplace and financing platform Bizongo has initiated a fresh investigation into a suspected financial fraud in FY24, following an intimation from its auditors earlier this year, a company spokesperson told FE.
The spokesperson stated that the probe comes months after the company had already conducted an internal investigation in April 2024, upon detecting discrepancies in its financial records.
“This investigation related to a mid-level former employee in the finance team,” the spokesperson said, adding, “The flagged issue is linked to a now-discontinued vertical where a former employee defrauded the company of Rs 21 crore.”
The discontinued vertical dealt with supply chain financing. Bizongo no longer lends directly; its financing vertical, now rebranded as BizongoFin, serves solely as a platform facilitating connections between lenders and borrowers.
The board initiated the new investigation in January 2025, after the company’s auditors flagged the matter, in order to ensure all bases were covered in the original investigation.
The probe is being overseen by a committee comprising CFO Gaurav Singhania and representatives from investors, including Accel, Chiratae Ventures, B Capital, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
The auditors have yet to sign off on Bizongo’s FY24 financials. However, the company maintains that the audit will be completed by the end of this month.
“Given the depth of our internal restructuring and cleanup, we’re taking the time needed to ensure that all disclosures are complete and compliant,” the company stated.
Bizongo’s business strategy and corporate makeup have undergone extensive restructuring since April last year. The company spokesperson, however, maintained that the recent changes, especially the replacement of the founders in the leadership team, is a strategic call taken by the board and investors, and not a result of the fraud allegations.
In parallel with its internal probe, Bizongo had engaged PwC in April last year to review internal processes. By September, PwC’s mandate was expanded to include a full governance audit and operational gap assessment. The resulting recommendations prompted a reshuffling of leadership and structural consolidation.
Bizongo has scrapped its earlier plan to separate its financing and marketplace businesses into independently led verticals. The split, announced in October 2024, had named Kiran Dev as CEO of BizongoFin and Prahalad Krishnamurthi as CEO of BizongoBuy, which also housed the company’s logistics arm.
Effective March 2025, all business units—including BizongoBuy, BizongoFin, and the logistics division—have been reconsolidated under a single profit-and-loss structure, with Krishnamurthi appointed as the group’s chief executive officer. The restructured leadership now includes CFO Singhania and chief business officer Gulshan Kaushik.
Agarwal is now a member of the firm’s board, and is not involved in the day to day operations of Bizongo.
Co-founder and former CEO Sachin Agarwal has transitioned to a board role and is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the company.