Cricketer Hardik Pandya’s stepbrother was arrested for allegedly cheating the cricketer and his brother in business. The stepbrother, Vaibhav Pandya (37), allegedly diverted around £430,000 from the partnership firm based in Mumbai, causing a loss to the cricketer and his brother, Krunal, said officials of Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai police. He has been charged with cheating and forgery.
In 2021, the three had jointly set up a polymer business. The terms of partnership were that the cricketer and his brother infuse 40% of capital each while the stepbrother would chip in with 20% and would handle daily operations. The profits were to distributed in the same ratio.
However, the stepbrother set up another firm dealing in the same trade, but without informing the cricketer and his brother, in violation of the partnership agreement. “Around this time, profits of the original partnership dropped, causing a loss of £300,000,” a source said, adding that the stepbrother secretly increased his own profit from 20% to 33.3%, causing loss to the cricketer and his brother.
The stepbrother allegedly diverted millions from the partnership firm’s account to his own, taking £100,000. Confronted by the cricketer, he allegedly threatened to tarnish his reputation.
