FILE PHOTO - Binny Bansal, Group Chief Executive Officer of India's largest e-commerce firm Flipkart, poses at the company's headquarters in Bengaluru, India July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Abhishek N. Chinnappa

(Reuters) - The investigation into Flipkart Group chief Binny Bansal that led to his resignation on Tuesday stemmed from an allegation of sexual assault that dates back a few years, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

“In late July ... an allegation came to us. It was a claim of sexual assault against Binny,” the source said, adding the individual concerned was a former Flipkart associate who was not with the company at the time of making the allegation.

“The investigation could not corroborate the allegation. It did, however, surface a lack of transparency on Binny’s part.”

Bansal has strongly denied the allegation, according to a separate statement by Flipkart and its main shareholder Walmart WMT.N.

He could not be reached for comment by repeated emails and phone calls from Reuters.