Zilingo fires CEO Ankiti Bose over financial irregularities

• Zilingo has fired its chief executive officer (CEO) Ankiti Bose after a brief suspension.
• She was suspended on March 31 due to discrepancies in the company’s accounts.
• The step was taken following an independent forensic audit into complaints of serious financial irregularities.

Singapore-based business-to-business (B2B) fashion startup Zilingo has fired its chief executive officer (CEO) Ankiti Bose after a brief suspension. The step was taken following an independent forensic audit into complaints of serious financial irregularities on Bose’s part.

"Following an investigation led by an independent forensics firm that was commissioned to look into complaints of serious financial irregularities, the company has decided to terminate Ankiti Bose's employment with cause, and reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action," Zilingo said in a statement.

The eight-year-old startup did not elaborate on the allegations against Bose or the findings of the independent audit.

However, Bose has claimed that she was terminated on the grounds of “insubordination”.

Ankiti Bose, along with Dhruv Kapoor, has been running Zilingo since 2015. She left her position as an investment analyst at Sequoia Capital at the age of 23 to launch her own company, Zilingo, and moved to Singapore a year later.

She was suspended on March 31 due to discrepancies in the company’s accounts. Bose even disputed these allegations and contested her suspension as well.

She alleged that the company’s actions are a ‘witch-hunt’ that was triggered by harassment complaints she raised against an investor in the company.

Zilingo, on May 20, addressed these complaints and dismissed Bose’s claim that was suspended for her harassment complaint. "On April 11th, after her suspension on March 31, Ankiti Bose brought to the board's attention, for the first time, certain harassment-related issues pertaining to past time periods, which did not include any harassment complaints against investors or their nominees," the company said.

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