In July 2024 EV cab service BluSmart raised Rs 200 crore in funding from new investors like ex-India cricket team captain MS Dhoni and Responsability Investments, a private banking firm from Switzerland. That round took total funding since December 2023 to around Rs 710 crore.

It also marked the completion of the Gurugram-based company’s pre-Series B round, which is about helping businesses – specifically those that have established themselves in their respective markets and have a loyal user base – scale up to the next level of operation.

Then, in January 2025, BluSmart said it was raising another Rs 5 crore, and that its pre-money valuation – i.e., its worth before it receives new external funding – was around Rs 33.5 crore.

All, it appeared, was going well for the new kid on the ride-hailing block and for its promoters, brothers Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi, who were also behind Gensol Engineering Limited.

BluSmart, it seemed, was living up to expectations – that it will revolutionise India’s fledging ride-hailing industry. But then came February 2025, and cracks started to appear.

In February the company reportedly defaulted on a Rs 30 crore payment. There were also reports that in December the company had deliberately misled credit rating agencies.

In March the promoters blamed “cash flow constraints” for delayed salaries.

By this time there were reports of investors backing out.

And on April 15, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, began asking questions – about BluSmart, Gensol, and the brothers’ apparent diversion of Rs 262 crore in loans meant to buy 1,700 EVs, or electric vehicles, towards the purchase of ultra-luxurious goods, including an apartment in Gurugram’s exclusive DLF Camelias residential project.

Within the next 48 hours the cracks widened; BluSmart suspended operations across Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai, and reports emerged of rivals Uber circling to pick up its EVs.

So, what has happened to Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi, and to BluSmart?

Sebi’s Allegations

Sebi has alleged governance issues, diversion of funds, and submission of falsified documents.

In essence, Sebi has said funds raised by Gensol to purchase EVs for BluSmart had, via “layered transactions”, been partially used for personal enrichment.

The red flags include diverting Rs 43 crore to buy the DLF Camelias apartment, spending Rs 26 lakh on golf clubs imported from the United States, and forex violations of Rs 1.86 crore.

It was also claimed that after a Rs 5 crore deposit for the apartment was returned by DLF, the money had been transferred to an outside party and not Gensol, as it should have been.

As a result, the regulator has launched an investigation and barred the brothers from accessing the securities market and holding high-level managerial roles at Gensol.

The ‘Scam’ Background

Gensol reportedly secured Rs 978 crore from public sector lenders, including the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency and the Power Finance Corporation, from 2021 to 2024. Of this amount, Rs 664 crore was supposed fund the purchase of 6,400 EVs.

These EVs were to be leased to BluSmart (more on this business model later) and incorporated into what was touted as an expanding fleet to service Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

But a regulatory filing in February 2025 opened a can of worms; Gensol revealed that only 4,704 EVs had been purchased, and that only Rs 568 crore had been utilised.

Where, then, was the remaining Rs 96 crore? And what became of the rest of the funds secured from public lenders, which amounted to Rs 262 crore.

Impact On BluSmart?

The more than 8,500 BluSmart-branded EVs that have been running, till now, on roads in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai are, in fact, owned by Gensol, which is listed as an Ahmedabad-based renewable energy firm that was founded by the Jaggi brothers in 2007.

The EVs purchased by Gensol were then leased out to BluSmart, which operated the ride-hailing business and paid back Gensol, and its drivers and employees.

And the company appeared to be making money; in March 2025 BluSmart said it expected to turn a profit within the next six quarters. Gross revenue for October-December quarter in 2024 was Rs 176 crore, it said, and for 10 months it had increased by 72 per cent to Rs 514 crore.

But once the Sebi order broke, BluSmart went offline.

Customers were no longer able to book cabs, and there is an added concern for them.

What will happen to money loaded into pre-paid BluSmart digital wallets?

The future of the BluSmart is now in question, particularly since senior executives have reportedly quit and the company may pivot to being a fleet partner for rival Uber.