India all-rounder and MI captain Hardik Pandya’s step-brother Vaibhav Pandya was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly cheating the cricketer and his brother in business.
Vaibhav Pandya, 37, allegedly diverted around Rs 4.3 crore from the partnership firm based in Mumbai, causing a loss to Hardik and Krunal Pandya, as per officials of the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai police. He has been charged with cheating and forgery.
As per a report, Hardik, Krunal, and Vaibhav jointly set up a polymer business. The terms of the partnership were that the cricketer and his brother infuse 40% of capital each while the stepbrother would chip in with 20 percent and would handle daily operations. The profits were to be distributed in the same ratio.
However, Vaibhav set up another firm dealing in the same trade without informing Hardik and Krunal, which violated the agreement between the three.
"Around this time, profits of the original partnership dropped, causing a loss of Rs.3 crore," a source said, adding that the stepbrother secretly increased his profit from 20% to 33.3%, causing loss to the cricketer and his brother.
Vaibhav, the step-brother of Hardik and Krunal, allegedly diverted lakhs from the partnership firm's account to his own, taking Rs 1 crore. When he was confronted by Hardik, he allegedly threatened to tarnish his reputation.
(Times of India inputs)
