Byju Raveendran to contest US court order, cites new evidence on use of $533 Million

Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran has stated that he will challenge a recent US bankruptcy court order and plans to place new evidence before the court to demonstrate that the disputed USD 533 million was not round-tripped but deployed for the expansion of parent company Think & Learn.

Raveendran is preparing to appeal the order, which directed him to pay more than USD 1 billion after the court held that he had obstructed efforts to trace the USD 533 million that lenders claimed was diverted from Byju’s American subsidiary. The ruling followed allegations by lenders who had issued a USD 1.2 billion term loan to Byju’s Alpha, accusing him of ignoring court directives and failing to participate in the proceedings, leading to a motion for default on 11 August, as per a PTI report.

He has contended that Glas Trust, the representative of the US lenders, along with Think & Learn’s resolution professional, misled the courts by asserting that the funds were diverted. He informed that Glas Trust’s lawyers had already accessed information on the utilisation of the funds during other legal proceedings.

The evidence he plans to submit includes bank statements, emails, intermediary transfer trails and documentary admissions that Glas Trust itself had obtained. He said this material will subsequently be provided to the Indian courts as well. Raveendran stated that the money was used for the benefit of Think & Learn and for business expansion and criticised what he described as an attack driven by lender greed, which he said had adversely affected Byju’s customers and employees.

Byju’s Alpha had previously been accused of round-tripping USD 533 million from the USD 1.2 billion loan through a London-based entity, OCI Limited, according to filings before the bankruptcy court. Raveendran’s legal team has maintained that the claims raised by the resolution professional against suspended directors are unfounded, asserting that the funds from the US loan were invested in Think & Learn shares in full compliance with Indian regulations.

The legal team has also indicated plans to initiate defamation and damages lawsuits worth more than USD 2.5 billion within the next 30 days against Glas Trust, the resolution professional and other parties involved in the dispute.