Sonia Dhawan, Paytm executives get ESOP allotment

BENGALURU: Over half a dozen employees of India’s largest mobile payments company Paytm including former vice president Sonia Dhawan have been allotted their

employee stock option

plans (ESOPs), according to two sources briefed on the matter and filings made with the ministry of corporate affairs.


Dhawan, who has been accused of data theft and blackmail along with others, has also joined women-focused community platform Sheroes as director of

communications

. Dhawan is out on bail right now in the case, which is still going on, since March.

“It is good to be back to the normal work routine. With my experience in building brands and public relations, I am confident to make a new beginning. There has been a lot of misunderstanding and confusion which is getting sorted. I am innocent and I expect the court case to conclude in the coming time,” said Dhawan in a statement.

Sheroes founder and CEO Sairee Chahal confirmed the development saying that Dhawan joined the company one week ago. Sheroes is a platform like

Reddit

for women where they can search for interest groups and discuss their problems, besides job and business opportunities. Sheroes counts Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma as one of the angel investors besides Flipkart’s Binny Bansal and outgoing Google India chief Rajan Anandan. Chahal also sits on the board of Paytm Payments Bank.

The development comes after reports stated in March that Dhawan is joining Paytm again. But Paytm had denied this development.

A total of over 35,434 shares have been allotted in the company at an exercise price of Rs 90 per unit to executives including Nitin Misra, Deepak Abbot and Sudhanshu Gupta besides Dhawan. Paytm spokesperson declined to comment on the development when contacted by TOI.

While the case against Dhawan, her husband Rupak Jain, Paytm employee Devendra Kumar was filed by Sharma, her lawyers had reportedly said that she was a victim of internal rivalry.

Sharma had also said that Dhawan may have been a pawn of someone else’s plan in a statement to

The Economic Times

. “I believe Sonia is a conduit of someone else’s bigger plan,” Sharma told ET in October. “I don’t know how many more people were involved in this sad conspiracy. I am shocked and surprised at things that happened and some claims or theories being pitched. I am sure with support of police and everyone involved we will uncover the details soon.”