Senior CA Partner: False Glassdoor Reviews Removed, Fabricated ICAI Inquiry Claim De-indexed

A dismissed employee — let go after an internal audit revealed misappropriation — published four Glassdoor reviews over six months using different accounts, progressively escalating the severity. The final review falsely claimed the firm was "under ICAI disciplinary inquiry for client fund misuse" — a completely fabricated statement. This review appeared as a Google featured snippet when prospective clients searched the firm's name, damaging three in-progress client onboarding processes.

Our team obtained a written confirmation from ICAI's disciplinary division confirming no complaint or inquiry existed against the firm or its partners — critical documentary evidence. This formed the centrepiece of the IT Act notice to Glassdoor's India grievance officer, accompanied by the dismissal documentation establishing motive and timeline correlation between the firing date and the first review. We lodged a complaint with the Mumbai Police Cyber Cell to put the matter on formal record. The originator's identity was determined through IP correlation with the firm's internal IT logs — the reviews were published from a device that had accessed the firm's client management system six weeks prior.

Glassdoor removed all four reviews after direct legal escalation with their Trust and Safety team (standard user reports had been rejected twice before our engagement). The Google snippet was de-indexed within 48 hours of the page removal. The ICAI false reference was fully removed from all search results by Day 18. The dismissed employee was served a legal notice setting out civil and criminal defamation liability; the matter has been settled through a confidential consent decree. The three client onboarding processes were resumed; two converted to signed engagements within 45 days.