Shopclues Founder Sandeep Aggarwal Pleads Guilty

Sandeep Aggarwal, the founder of Indian e-commerce firm Shopclues is pleading guilty of securities fraud, according to a new report.

Aggarwal told Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis that he tipped off a hedge fund to improve his standing as an analyst and to increase revenue for his firm, Bloomberg reported.

“I know what I did was wrong and I’m very sorry for my conduct,”  he said. Charges against him carry a sentence of 25 years in jail.

Shopclues’ co-founder & CEO Sandeep Aggarwal was arrested by the FBI on July 30 for allegedly tipping off a hedge fund manager who pleaded guilty of insider trading earlier. Aggarwal was subsequently released on a $500,000 bond until trial.

Before starting ShopClues in India, he was a Wall Street analyst. He was recently accused of tipping off Richard Lee, a portfolio manager at SAC Capital, about a partnership between Microsoft & Yahoo.

SAC Capital is reportedly reaching a $1.8 billion settlement with the US government.

Shopclues had raised $10 mn from Helion Venture Partners, Nexus Ventures and Netprice.com Chief Executive Officer Teruhide Sato.