Mumbai Police files FIR against Rahul Yadav, Sanjay Saini of 4B Networks for fraud

Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has initiated legal proceedings against senior officials of Info Edge subsidiary 4B Networks, namely Rahul Yadav and Sanjay Saini. They are facing allegations of defrauding an advertising firm for an amount exceeding Rs 10 crore, according to a police official.

The complainant is Vikas Om Prakas Noval, a director at Rajasthan-based Interspace Communication, as confirmed by an EOW official to PTI.

According to Noval's statement to law enforcement, he alleged that Yadav's company engaged in deceptive practices resulting in Interspace Communication incurring a loss of over Rs 10 crore for services rendered to 4B Networks in 2022. Between February and September of 2022, 4B Networks engaged in contracts with the latter for services such as installation, printing, hoarding placements, and other advertising-related functions.

Subsequent to the completion of these services, Noval's company sent invoices to 4B Networks for the agreed-upon payments. While a partial payment was initially made by Yadav's firm, the remaining dues were not settled, as outlined in the allegations put forth by the complainant.

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In response to these claims, Noval approached law enforcement and filed a formal complaint with the EOW.

Following the official complaint, the FIR was formally registered on Saturday. The individuals—Yadav, the director of 4B Networks, and Saini, a founding member of the management—along with their company, have been named as accused in the FIR lodged at Amboli Police Station. The charges include the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 420 (pertaining to cheating) and 406 (in relation to breach of trust), as disclosed by the police official.

As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with this case. The authorities have emphasised that an ongoing investigation is in progress to delve into the matter further.

4B Networks was founded as a proptech company and offered a platform to enable brokers and real estate developers to communicate with each other.

This June, consumer internet company Info Edge initiated a forensic audit into 4B Networks prompted by the proptech startup's repeated refusal to share financial data despite multiple requests. It also earlier wrote off its entire Rs 288 crore worth of investment into the company.

Subsequently, in July, following the directives from the Delhi High Court, both Info Edge and 4B Networks reached an accord to appoint an arbitrator. This move was aimed at facilitating mediation for their escalating dispute.

(Additional info has been added to this PTI copy for context.)