Singapore-based fashion technology startup Zilingo on Friday, May 20, said it has fired Indian-origin co-founder and CEO Ankiti Bose following an independent forensic audit into complaints of serious financial irregularities. Bose was placed under suspension on March 31 after complaints of alleged discrepancies in the company accounts.

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However, the firm did not disclose the allegations against Bose or the findings of the audit. The company said Bose made certain harassment-related allegations only after she was suspended on March 31, and an investigation has concluded that the firm took appropriate action.

In a separate statement to Bloomberg News, Bose said her employment was terminated on grounds of “insubordination.”

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Who is Ankiti Bose?

Ankiti Bose, 30, is a co-founder and former CEO of e-commerce startup Zilingo – an online fashion company that supplies technology to apparel merchants and factories.

Bose completed her schooling at Cambridge School, Mumbai and graduated in Mathematics and Economics from St Xavier’s College. According to the Sports Grail, she has an estimated net worth of $5 million.

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In 2018, she was featured in Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 list and in Fortune’s 40 Under 40 along with Bloomberg 50 in 2019.

She started her career at McKinsey & Company in 2012, after which she joined Sequoia Capital as an investment analyst in 2014. In 2015, Bose and Dhruv Kapoor started Zilingo as a Southeast Asia-focused e-commerce firm. Over time, it became a global supply chain for the apparel industry, financing, and other services. With millions of users, Zilingo has operations across Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, India, and the United States.

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The company, which counts Singaporean state holding company Temasek and Sequoia Capital among its investors, raised USD 226 million in its last funding round in early 2019. The fundraising had valued the company at around USD 1 billion. Zilingo has around 600 employees in eight countries.

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Bose is involved with several programmes to support and mentor women entrepreneurs. She has spoken at the World Economic Forum in India.