The fraud at the firm initially surfaced as a dark whisper in Spring. It persisted as an insidious issue over Summer and Fall. Finally, it morphed into a full-blown controversy in Winter when one of the independent directors quit the board after an alleged “misalignment of values”. Overnight, the Shukla brothers – Ashish (CEO) and Bhavesh (CFO), who were popularly referred to as Shukla A and Shukla B, turned from business bravehearts into vulpine finaglers in public opinion. The change in their personal circumstances was even more dramatic. They went from hosting lavish parties and having an army of servants to chopping vegetables for their meals and ironing their own business suits for the string of court appearances. And after their sins were formerly established and confirmed, they found themselves behind bars in the appalling company of petty smugglers, high society pimps, aging pedophiles and corrupt politicians. What a disgrace! In jail, Shukla A struggled with a crimson red itchy rash while Shukla B complained of swollen toes.
But listen, this story is not so much of a pair of common greedy lowlives previously hailed as dynamic entrepreneurs as it is of the crack team that worked directly for them. This core group which was termed ‘The Mavens’ included five members. While the media wrote at length of the loss to the investors and the altered fortunes of the Shukla duo, the human cost to this bunch largely went unreported. The Mavens took pride in being amongst the brightest minds of the young generation of the nation, but they were as shocked as the next person when the company collapsed. They felt silly and redundant that the scam had carried along right below their noses and yet they had remained utterly clueless. Weren’t they supposed to be caretakers of the corporate affairs? Their initial sense of disbelief slowly turned into anger, rage and dismay. Feeling let down by the Shukla brothers, they glumly moved out of the shipwreck to seek opportunities elsewhere: Gaurav and Saurabh left in quick succession, followed by Kavita and Rahul. Only one person stayed on longer to literally turn off the lights and hand over the keys to the bankers – Maya.
In 1966, when Motown Records released Jimmy Ruffin’s single “What becomes of the brokenhearted?”, it instantly hit a chord with the listeners and continued to offer comfort decades later. While the song spoke of the pain of a departed love, it resonated with this group dealing with the misery of dashed career aspirations. The ballad ended with hope-filled lines: I'll be looking everyday/I know I'm gonna find a way. In Maya’s case, she eventually pivoted to a career in investments and also, found a lovely bloke to marry. In the process, two years had passed by. The wedding date had been set and as Maya was drawing up the guest list for the marriage, she thought of her former colleagues. And for the first time in two years, she reached out to the other Mavens. Their response was very enthusiastic. They latched onto the idea to meet up for drinks before the wedding. After much deliberation, they agreed upon the recently opened bar in BKC.
Maya was the first to reach the bar and grabbed a table at the far end of the room. Soon, the others arrived as well. They were quick to note that physically not much had changed in their appearances, except that Gaurav had piled on a few extra pounds and Rahul’s hair had started thinning at the top. They attributed that to the stress they faced in their consultancy work. Meanwhile, Kavita had started her own real estate business and Saurabh had altogether abandoned corporate life and was managing a gym training studio. Having gathered the general updates from everyone, the conversation then turned to the Shukla duo.
“Does anyone have the latest on Shukla A and B?”, Saurabh asked.
“I heard they are both still in prison. Fortunately, we have all managed to land on our feet,” Rahul replied.
“What simple souls we all were. Still can’t believe none of the Mavens knew of the fraud spinning around us,” Maya said.
“Well, one of us did,” Gaurav replied casually.
Kavita’s elbow fell off the table.
“You mean to say that someone around this table was involved?”, Kavita asked sharply.
Gaurav nodded empathically. The others gave Gaurav a long stare.
“Who?”, Rahul asked.
Gaurav shrugged his shoulders.
“Who?”, Rahul repeated.
“How does it matter now?”, Gaurav replied.
“It does”, Rahul said. “I still occasionally have nightmares over what happened back then and I wake up in a sweat.”
Gaurav continued to sip his drink. The mood around the table turned grim and somber.
“How do you know that one of us was part of the fraud?”, Maya asked of Gaurav.
Gaurav set his drink on the table and rubbed his fingers pensively. Just then his phone beeped. His boss wanted some file. They waited impatiently as Gaurav retrieved the file, made some amendments and then sent it across. They glanced at each other anxiously.
“Yes, where were we?”, Gaurav asked, putting his phone aside.
“How do you know that one of us was part of the fraud?”, Rahul inquired again.
Gaurav crossed his arms across his chest and lowered his voice. “I was an early member of the Mavens. During those initial days, I worked very closely with Shukla A and B on a project. That’s when I discovered that Shukla B was rather feeble as a CFO. He had a background in architectural design and had done a handful of courses on finance that were talked up. But it seemed to me that he lacked deep understanding of the finance subject and had been given the position of the CFO on account of family ties.”
Gaurav paused for a drink as they all leaned in closely. “And yet most of the scam was perpetrated through elaborate financial schemes,” he continued. “Someone else had helped him and that someone has managed to remain below the surface.” “For months after the firm dissolved, I racked my brains as to which Maven was part of the scandal. Each day I would come up with a suspect and then reject the notion by the end of the day. Finally, I convinced myself that it was not worth bothering about and got on with my life.”
Kavita’s jaw dropped. “What!”, Kavita exclaimed.
“If I could get my hands on that person, I wouldn’t hesitate in dragging him or her to jail right now,” Saurabh muttered in an exasperated tone and looked around.
“Holy Jones! To think the person sitting next to me is a cheat,” Maya said stroking her forehead.
Gaurav drained his glass completely. Suddenly they all fell very silent. They let the information soak in. The Mavens were not that innocent after all. One of them had been part of the malfeasance all along. Finally, Rahul broke the silence with a huge sigh.
“I think I’m going to have another round of nightmares,” he announced.
Saurabh shifted uncomfortably and in an attempt to break the tense atmosphere, suggested that it was time for more drinks. The others promptly agreed. They then switched subjects and talked about the preparation for Maya’s upcoming nuptials, the global tensions, the economy in doldrums and how they still managed to soldier on. It was getting late. The folks by the bar had started turning off the taps. “We shut in five,” someone announced loudly. They rose to leave. They hugged each other and said that they looked forward to meeting again at the wedding. Maya watched as Gaurav, Rahul and Saurabh exited the bar. Kavita was about to leave when Maya caught up with her.
“Are you going towards the car park?”, Maya asked.
“Yes indeed.”
“Then we can walk together,” Maya replied.
The night was beautiful with a mild breeze and light shower. The moon was a tiny crescent over them. The street was deserted except for an odd speeding car. They walked in silence for a while before turning towards the parking zone.
“I know it was you, Kavita,” Maya said.
“What?”, Kavita replied, nearly stumbling.
“I know it was you,” Maya repeated with more conviction.
“What makes you so sure?”. Kavita turned and stood in front of Maya.
“You were the CFO’s lover. Isn’t that true?”
“What makes you think that?”.
“I was once hunting for a meeting room on the floor and stumbled across the two of you huddled over a laptop. The proximity of the two of you had bothered me then but I had dismissed it till now. Just as Gaurav was talking this evening, I pulled back that image and I vividly recalled that you had an arm around him. Am I right?”, Maya asked.
Kavita remained silent. “You can’t prove anything,” she retorted.
“Perhaps not,” Maya replied. “But what I would like to know is what motivated you to be part of the fraud. Was it money or love?”
“It was money of course. In fact, it was my brainchild,” she revealed proudly. “But marvel at the stealth with which it was perpetrated. Even the investigating agencies couldn’t identify my name,” she responded.
“What about the CFO?”, Maya asked.
“What about him? He’s paying for his greed. He’s a closed chapter for me now. Besides, who would want to romance a jailbird?”
With that, Kavita then turned away and continued to walk towards the car park. Maya watched her till she took off in her sedan and then picked up her phone. “Gaurav, we have the rogue Maven.” With that, Maya then turned off the audio recorder on her phone.
