FirstCry founder Supam Maheshwari is among the three Indian unicorn founders being probed by the Income Tax department for alleged tax evasion, Bloomberg reported. Globalbees Brands Ltd. and Xpressbees are the other two unicorns under the tax department’s scanner.
The department has inquired why Maheshwari failed to pay over $50 million in taxes on equity transactions conducted in FirstCry and has also sent notices to him in this regard, people familiar with the matter informed Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, enquiries related to the matter have also been sent to at least six investors in the privately-held FirstCry, including private equity firm ChrysCapital Management Co and Sunil Bharti Mittal’s family office.
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As per people familiar with the matter, the FirstCry founder is in talks with the tax department to settle the probe.
The tax department, Maheshwari, spokespersons for Mittal and ChrysCapital have not responded to emails seeking comments about the probe.
After years of losses, the unicorn FirstCry had turned profitable in the financial year ended March 31, 2021.
As per an earlier report by Bloomberg, it is one of the few startups in India seeking to tap the IPO market after being profitable at an operational level.