BluSmart halts cab bookings in Bengaluru amidst SEBI probe into financial irregularities: Report

This follows scrutiny from SEBI over alleged financial misconduct by its parent company, Gensol Engineering Ltd, involving misused funds.

Updated on: Apr 16, 2025, 16:24:13 IST

By HT News Desk

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BluSmart, the electric cab service that had been expanding in metropolitan cities, has quietly suspended its operations in Bengaluru, according to a report by Moneycontrol. Despite its app still being accessible on the Play Store, users have found themselves unable to schedule rides — with both date and time selection features disabled, effectively pausing the service. A similar issue appears to be affecting users in Delhi-NCR as well.

BluSmart is in the soup after SEBI alleged financial misconduct by the promoters of the company. (REUTERS)

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This development comes at a time when BluSmart's parent company, Gensol Engineering Ltd (GEL), is under intense scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for alleged financial misconduct. In a scathing interim order, SEBI has accused the company’s promoters — Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi — of treating the publicly listed company as their personal enterprise.

According to SEBI’s findings, large sums intended for business purposes were diverted by the promoters for personal luxuries. These included the purchase of a luxury apartment at The Camellias in DLF Gurgaon, an expensive golf set, and payments toward personal credit card bills. Funds were also allegedly funneled to close relatives.

At the core of SEBI's concerns is the misuse of term loans sanctioned by two government-backed lenders — the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and the Power Finance Corporation (PFC). Gensol secured a total of ₹977.75 crore, with ₹663.89 crore earmarked specifically for the procurement of 6,400 electric vehicles. These EVs were meant to be leased to BluSmart, a related entity.

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However, a glaring mismatch was found in the execution of this plan. In a reply submitted to SEBI in February, Gensol admitted that it had only purchased 4,704 EVs, falling significantly short of the target for which funding had been received. This was further confirmed by Go-Auto Private Limited, the EV supplier, which stated it had delivered exactly 4,704 units to Gensol at a total cost of ₹567.73 crore.

(With agency inputs)

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HT News Desk
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