In the midst of a recent squabble involving fintech BharatPe co-founder and Managing Director Ashneer Grover, he has lavished praise on Kotak Mahindra Bank Chairman and MD Uday Kotak, calling him a “legend.”

“Uday Kotak is a legend. I had the fortune of starting my career in Kotak -7 years – and can tell you no one understands or does finance better in India!” the embattled co-founder said in a reply to a LinkedIn post.

Also Read| Explained: Ahead of Assembly elections, will Union Budget 2022 be in favour of farmers?

These words take on added significance in light of the recent controversy involving Grover and Uday Kotak’s Kotak Mahindra Bank. After a quarrel over IPO financing, Kotak Mahindra sent a legal notice to Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover on January 10. Grover’s abusive language and threats have prompted the private bank’s wealth management section to take legal action.

Grover’s praise of Kotak has sparked speculation he is keen on putting the bitterness behind them.

Also Read| On a quiet weekend in theaters, ‘Spider-Man’ is No. 1 again

The entire controversy erupted after an audio recording of a phone call reportedly between Grover and a Kotak Wealth Management employee went viral on social media. The audio was initially shared on Twitter by an anonymous user. Grover is purportedly heard abusing and threatening to kill the Kotak employee in a fake police encounter for his inability to acquire funds for buying shares in the Nykaa IPO in the leaked recording.

Also Read| Tony Bennett might forget a lot, but not his music: Friends, family on his Alzheimer’s

After the audio clip became public, Grover put out a statement on Twitter, claiming that the clip was fake. “Folks. Chill! It’s FAKE audio by some scamster trying to extort funds (US$ 240K in bitcoins). I refused to buckle. I’ve got more character. And Internet has got enough scamsters,” Grover said on Twitter.

Also Read| United Nations: Over 100 former Afghan forces, officials slain since August

While Grover was placed on leave until the end of March due to backlash over his abusive language to a Kotak employee and the toxic culture at BharatPe, Moneycontrol reported on January 28 that Grover’s wife, Madhuri Jain Grover, the $3 billion fintech’s head of controls, had also been put on leave during an investigation into the company’s practices.

Also Read| Maan Ki Baat: From Collarwali tigress to receiving postcards from Croatia, check highlights

The company has launched a comprehensive probe into the governance mechanisms at BharatPe, which is recognized for its QR code aggregation software and lending platform. Alvarez and Marsal, a management consulting and risk advisory firm, has been hired to conduct this investigation.

Also Read| UK PM Boris Johnson’s chief of staff watched England vs India cricket match as Taliban took Kabul: report

The industry has also speculated that Grover will be fired from BharatPe as a result of this probe. Late last week, social media was flooded with rumours that Grover and his wife had already left the company and that the board had seized their shares. To dispel these rumours, the company stated on January 29 that it had not terminated the services of any employees and will only wait for the external auditor’s investigation to be completed.

Also Read| All you need to know about Australian Open winner Rafael Nadal

Since its launch, BharatPe has served over 75 lakh merchants in 150 locations and has facilitated the disbursement of loans of over 3,000 crore to its merchants.