Cricketer Hardik Pandya's stepbrother was arrested for defrauding him of more than ₹4 crore in business.

Vaibhav Pandya, the stepbrother of cricketer Hardik Pandya, has been taken into custody by the Mumbai police for allegedly defrauding the all-round player and his brother Krunal out of around Rs 4.25 crore.

Vaibhav was given the responsibility of overseeing the day-to-day activities of the polymer business firm that the Pandya brothers and Vaibhav established in 2021, according to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

According to reports, Vaibhav broke the two brothers' agreement by forming his own proprietorship company in the same industry (under a different name) and keeping the other brothers in the dark.

Later, it is said that Vaibhav transferred funds to his own company from the LLP (limited liability partnership) firm. The partnership firm saw a decline in profit over time. Additionally, Vaibhav is accused of deceitfully raising his profit percentage in the LLP firm beyond what was fair without disclosing this to the two brothers. For this, he purportedly falsified the Pandya brothers' signatures on an LLP agreement," a press-tipped investigating officer claimed.

The officer continued, "After Krunal Pandya and the Mumbai Indians captain realized this, one of them went up to Vaibhav and threatened him with serious repercussions." In addition to other offenses under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Vaibhav is accused of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and criminal intimidation.

Vaibhav was taken into custody by the Mumbai police's EOW on April 8 and brought before a court, where he was detained until April 12.

According to an officer, the detectives believe that additional people were involved in helping Vaibhav commit the crime, and they will probably make further arrests after learning more about their involvement.