Billionaire Prasanna Sankar Denies Prostitution Case, Claims Wife's Allegations Are Bid for Financial Leverage

Chennai-born tech entrepreneur and co-founder of the multi-billion-dollar company Rippling, Prasanna Sankar, who had been evading the Chennai Police over allegations of rape and domestic violence filed by his wife, Dhivya Sashidhar, has now shared an update on the ongoing legal battle. The allegations emerged amid their divorce and custody dispute over their child.

Taking to social media, Sankar-also the founder of Singapore-based crypto social network 0xPPL.com-denied the accusations, claiming he was being falsely targeted. He stated, "My wife has given a press conference outside the police station. Let's address her allegations and see what actually happened."

Custody Dispute and Allegations

Sankar addressed the primary allegation that he had kidnapped their child. He claimed that the custody arrangement was mutually agreed upon through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). "She says I took him by force and threats. PFA - she instructs voluntarily when we should pick up the child from her house, as per the terms of the MoU custody agreement," he stated.

He also denied forcing his wife to sign the MoU, presenting conversations between their respective legal representatives as evidence of a voluntary agreement. Additionally, he refuted claims that he coerced her into returning to India from Singapore over a property dispute. "Here's the WA federal court judge instructing her to return the child. I did not force - the law did. No property dispute nonsense," he asserted.

Criminal Allegations Dismissed

Sankar also addressed the allegations that he had recorded and distributed explicit videos of his wife, calling them "false charges." He stated that Singapore police had investigated the claims by seizing his devices and found no evidence. He further noted that similar allegations were dismissed in Washington, where a judge ruled in his favor.

Responding to claims of involvement in a US prostitution case, Sankar pointed out that criminal charges in the US are a matter of public record. "Any netizen can background check and confirm that I was never charged with anything," he said.

Financial Dispute and Legal Stand

The entrepreneur also dismissed allegations that he fraudulently transferred matrimonial assets, stating that the disputed assets were his Rippling shares, a company he co-founded. "She had zero involvement in this. At a certain level of wealth, everyone does tax and inheritance planning. She signed off on all of these. Now regrets it and files fake complaints everywhere," he added.

Sankar believes that his wife is pursuing these allegations to gain financial leverage. "She has nothing to lose at this point. She might as well say, 'Yes, I messed up, but I still want public sympathy and his money,'" he said.

Demands Before Child's Return

Sankar outlined his conditions before returning the child to his wife. He insisted that she should not abduct the child again and that the child's passport be secured in a joint locker as agreed in the MoU. "She needs to agree in courts that she will follow the custody schedule and return the child back to me 50/50," he stated, adding that she had been avoiding court hearings and instead using police intervention as a means of aggression.

For the unversed, Prasanna Sankar, co-founder of the $10 billion HR tech company Rippling, is a Singapore-based entrepreneur of Indian origin from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NIT Trichy), where he later met his wife.

Before launching Rippling, Sankar gained experience at top tech companies, including an internship at Google in 2006 and a role at Microsoft Canada.

Since January 2023, he has also been heading 0xPPL, a decentralized social network focused on crypto communities, as per his LinkedIn profile.