Zerodha Vs Malpani: Nithin Kamath’s Response To Rs 5-Crore Withdrawal Row Draws Mixed Reaction

Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath’s swift handling of an alleged scam involving the withdrawal of Rs 5 crore by an investor has recently caught the attention of social media users. The issue has sparked conversations about withdrawal limits and customer service involving online trading platforms like Zerodha.

The recent public exchange between Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath and investor Dr Aniruddha Malpani has attracted mixed reactions.

On Nov. 3, Dr Malpani, a Mumbai-based IVF specialist and investor, took to X and accused India’s largest brokerage platform of running a “scam,” claiming that the platform blocked him from accessing his funds.

Malpani wrote, “The Zerodha scam! They don't allow me to withdraw my own money from their account, saying the daily limit for withdrawal is Rs 5 crores. They use my money for free!” He also tagged Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and added, “This is unfair.”

Responding to the allegation, Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath said that the company’s internal checks are designed to maintain the stability of its systems. He wrote, “Hi Dr, your payout requests were processed yesterday. We need to ensure, for the sake of our systems’ sanity (like all other financial services firms), that we have some checks in place when clients withdraw funds.”

He added that once the payout goes through, the company cannot reverse it in case of errors or fraud. “Hence, Rs 5 crore is the threshold at which we ask customers to create tickets to withdraw,” Kamath added.

Dr Malpani disagreed, saying that the process places unnecessary responsibility on the user. He wrote, “Yes, I understand. My point is, you are transferring the burden to the user. Your system can easily flag high-value transactions and your customer service team can email and phone the user to confirm that it’s a valid transaction. Why make me do the work?”

The exchange soon went viral, sparking a flood of reactions.

Several users praised Kamath’s decision to address the issue himself, while a few others also raised concerns over the trading platform's customer service.

One user said that high-value complaints attract top-level attention, saying, “When your complaint involves >5cr Nithin himself is your customer service rep,” adding a fire emoji to underline the remark.

Others defended Zerodha’s internal controls and felt there was no reason for outrage. A user pointed out that the rules are clearly laid out at the time of onboarding, writing, “Sir, the rules are well articulated at the time of signing a contract itself, so why act surprised, this is a general norm across industry!!! Salute to Mr Kamath for such a professional response and salute to you too, sir, for starting a healthy debate which will only help improve.”

Some users felt Dr Malpani’s accusation was excessive, especially after Kamath addressed the matter personally. One comment read, “That’s mighty responsive, Nithin, great to see this! Restores my faith in Zerodha. I think @malpani should take back his words, calling it a scam!”

There were also users who emphasised the security aspect. One pointed out the regulatory risks associated with high-value withdrawals.

Amid the serious back-and-forth, humour found its way into the conversation too. A user tagged Grok, the AI chatbot, and wrote, “Prepare a step-by-step plan of how to become so rich that the CEO of a multi-million firm personally resolves my query.”

A few others also raised concerns over the customer service of new-age fintech firms.

"The rich asking for withdrawal of huge money is immediately attended to by another rich. any other complaint- 7 days TAT only for eventual response “As per rules, it isn’t possible," said a user.

With many users praising Kamath for replying himself, the focus soon shifted from the withdrawal issue to how unusual it was to see a CEO step in personally.