Dhawan joins early Paytm backer SAIF

Digbijay.Mishra@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: Sonia Dhawan, who returned to Paytm in June last year after being accused of

data theft

and

blackmail

, has left the digital wallet company to work at venture capital firm

SAIF Partners

, people aware of the matter said.

She has joined the venture capital firm as adviser — corporate communications. She will be working on communications and marketing for SAIF’s portfolio companies, which include Paytm besides food delivery startup

Swiggy

, logistics venture

Rivigo

, and home services company

UrbanClap

.

SAIF Partners confirmed the development to TOI. Dhawan also confirmed to TOI that she joined

SAIF

earlier this year and that she left Paytm late last year. SAIF Partners has been an early backer of Paytm since 2007 and are currently holds about a 20% stake in the company.

After getting bail in the case of extortion of Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma last year, she had joined the Noida-based company’s gaming business unit — Paytm First Games — as its head of corporate communications and marketing. Though Sharma had filed the case in 2018, he had told The Economic Times that she might have been a pawn in someone else’s plan.

Dhawan was also allotted employee stock option plans (ESOPs) of Paytm in June. She is out on bail right now as the case continues in court.


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