India cricketer Hardik Pandya tricked Vaibhav, his stepbrother, out of Rs 4.3 crore and placed him in the police net for forgery

Vaibhav Pandya, the stepbrother of cricket players Hardik and Krunal Pandya, has reportedly been taken into custody by the Mumbai Police on charges of defrauding them of Rs 4.3 crore via the diversion of cash in a business venture.

The Times of India said that Vaibhav, 37, is suspected of embezzling money from a Mumbai-based partnership company, causing Hardik and Krunal Pandya to suffer financial losses.

The Mumbai police’s Economic Offenses Wing has accused Vaibhav Pandya of forgery and deception in relation to these activities, according to the TOI report.

The story said that the three had jointly established a polymer company in 2021, with the cricketer brothers contributing 40% of the money each and Vaibhav contributing 20% in addition to managing day-to-day operations as per the conditions of the partnership.

But according to reports, the accused stepbrother broke the conditions of the arrangement by starting another business in the same industry without telling the Pandya brothers.

According to an official, this resulted in a decline in the original partnership firm’s earnings and a loss of almost Rs 3 crore.

Furthermore, Vaibhav was accused of covertly raising his own profit share to 33.3%, which severely hurt Hardik and Krunal. According to an officer, he also transferred money from the partnership account to his own, totaling almost Rs 1 crore.

According to officials, Vaibhav reportedly threatened to damage Hardik’s reputation when the cricket player challenged him.

Following a complaint by the cricket player’s accountant, a case was opened and sent to the EOW.