A suspended director of the troubled Indian ed-tech firm Byju’s has been ordered to pay $10,000 per day until he assists in locating $533 million that the company is accused of hiding from US lenders, a judge announced on Wednesday.
Riju Ravindran, who is the brother of Byju’s founder, has been central to a nearly two-year dispute over the missing funds, which the lenders claim should be returned following the company’s default. Ravindran is one of three directors of Think & Learn Pvt., the entity behind the Byju’s brand, who were recently replaced by a trustee in an involuntary bankruptcy case filed in India, according to US court documents.
US Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon also denied a request to suspend the US debt proceedings to allow Ravindran and Byju’s to find new legal representation. American lawyers for Ravindran and Byju’s have sought to withdraw from the case, citing an “irreparable breakdown” in their relationship with the clients.
Instead, Shannon ruled that Ravindran’s current attorneys must continue representing him until at least the next hearing, scheduled for next month in US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, where much of the legal conflict has unfolded.
This development is the latest chapter in an unusual saga involving Byju’s, once a prominent symbol of India’s tech industry. Within 18 months of securing $1.2 billion in loans from US lenders in 2022, Byju’s missed critical financial reporting deadlines, faced raids by Indian regulators, and was accused of defaulting by American lenders.
The controversy centers on allegations that Byju’s fraudulently transferred $533 million away from a US shell company created to handle the debt repayment. Byju’s has countered by alleging that it is being targeted by predatory lenders.
The missing funds are linked to Byju’s Alpha Inc., a bankrupt shell company affiliated with Think & Learn, which was taken over by the lenders after the default.
The US bankruptcy case is registered as BYJU’S Alpha Inc., 24-10140, in the US Bankruptcy Court District of Delaware (Wilmington).
