Recently, a report said that a US court has ordered Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu to pay $1.7 billion in bail in his ongoing divorce case. Vembu’s U.S. attorney Christopher C. opposed the bond order. Melcher called it “invalid” and clarified that the order was made a year ago. “As Sridhar Vembu’s lawyer, I can add some facts that are missing from the article. The order was issued a year ago at the emergency request of his wife, which meant we had little time to respond to the outrageously false allegations she made against Sridhar,” Melcher said. He explained that the Zoho founder had “already transferred his share in the family home to her,” adding that “the judge was tricked into ordering Sridhar to post a $1.7 billion bond for the alleged protection of the woman.” Sridhar Vembu married Pramila Srinivasan in 1993. The two lived in the USA before Vembu returned to India in 2019. He filed for divorce with his estranged wife in 2021, the same year he was awarded Padma Shri. The focus of the divorce proceedings is community property, which is defined as property acquired during the marriage. California law requires these assets to be divided in the event of a divorce. In the post, Vembu’s lawyer claims that Vembu gave his wife 50% of his shares in ZCPL – Zoho Corporation Pvt. has offered. Ltd, but Srinivasan “refused to accept the shares”. What Sridhar Vembu’s lawyer saidHere is the full text of the post shared by Christopher C. Melcher, attorney for Zoho founder Sridhar VembuAs Sridhar Vembu’s lawyer, I can add some facts that are missing from the article. The order was made a year ago at his wife’s emergency request, which meant we had little time to respond to the outrageously false allegations she had made against Sridhar. The judge in California was completely misled by the woman’s attorney, who is not even licensed to practice law in California and who intervened in this case from New York even though there are no New York matters. Sridhar offered his wife 50% of his shares in ZCPL but she refused to accept the shares till date. Instead, she claimed that Sridhar was trying to cheat her in the divorce. This makes no sense as she could now take half of her shares and Sridhar has already transferred his shares in the family house to her. Although the judge in this case behaved honorably, he was tricked into ordering Sridhar to post $1.7 billion in bail to supposedly protect his wife. There is no legal authority for such an order. A later judge acknowledged that the amount seemed absurd. Sridhar could borrow up to $150 million for his shares, which was the extent of his ability to pay, but his wife did not want to accept the money. This was a waste of time for the woman as she has nothing to show for her efforts to defame Sridhar. Her lawyer misled the court and may have misled them about reality while charging millions of dollars in fees. By the way, this has nothing to do with maintenance, since the wife hasn’t even applied for a maintenance order yet. Sridhar will fully comply with all legal orders of the State of California. The $1.7 billion bond order is invalid, cannot be complied with and is being appealed. The bankruptcy order was stayed on appeal. So, this old news story about an assignment that should never have happened. It is an honor to represent Sridhar and to have been given the opportunity to meet such a wonderful person. This case does not define him and reflects the bad actions of his wife and her New York lawyer.
