Byju's Founders Face US Lawsuit Over $533 Million Dispute

Byju's Alpha, the US-based finance division of the Edtech company, announced on Thursday it has filed an action in an US judge against the Byju's founders sued of its company Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath and its the former chief strategist and senior chief executive Anita Kishore. The complaint charges them with concocting a scheme that was fraudulent that involved the $533 million transfer of loan funds - known in the "Byju's Alpha" - out of the company, without receiving anything in exchange.

In a statement by TOI, Byju's Raveendran denied the claims, calling them "completely baseless and untrue". He added "This Byju's lawsuit is a part of Glas' conspiracy to wrestle control of Byju's through all possible nefarious means. It is nothing but another cog in the wheel of lies that Glas, the illegal representative of disqualified lenders in the US, has been rotating for a long time now." Glas Trust is the trustee for lenders, to whom Byju's is owed $1.2 billion.

Raveendran claimed that a signed and confirmed Affidavit filed with the Delaware court explained the application of the $1.2 billion credit "to the last dollar," and claimed that the statement has been "conveniently ignored" by Glass.

He also accused of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in relation to individuals who are associated with the lenders, which included "Vishal Chanani of Redwood, Dan Ornstein of HG Vora, and Irena Goldstein of Glas," in connection with a bribery-related alleged scheme that involved one Indian judiciary official. Raveendran said his belief that Glas was "already under investigation in a criminal case in India."

In the court filing that was reviewed by TOI the Byju's Alpha claimed that the defendants were involved in an "lawless scheme" to divert Alpha Funds from the debtor entity to different group affiliates following the company was in default on the $1.2 million term loan 2022.