Byju’s crisis: Director Riju Ravindran not truthful about whereabouts of $553 mn, says US court

Byju’s crisis: Director of Think & Learn Pvt and Byju Raveendran’s brother, Riju Ravindran, is facing financial penalties for defying a US judge’s order to find out the whereabouts of the $553 million that the firm’s lenders are looking for.

US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, during a hearing in Delaware on Tuesday, said Ravindran failed to make a serious effort to find out what happened to the cash, as well as deceived the court, according to a report in Bloomberg.

Dorsey, pointing out that Ravindran either knows where the money is hidden and won’t say or he refused to find out, said: “I conclude Mr. Ravindran’s testimony is not truthful.” 

The court said that it would hold a hearing to decide how much Raveendran must pay in fines and if he has any assets that are subject to the court's jurisdiction.

Ravindran, his brother and founder of Byju’s, Byju Raveendran and sister-in-law Divya Gokulnath, are the only directors of Think & Learn, the parent company of the edtech firm.  Dorsey, according to the report, has repeatedly expressed frustration over Byju’s refusal to help it locate the money. The judge had also ordered the arrest of the hedge fund manager who helped them move the cash, but had refused a court order to reveal what happened to the money. 

However, the judge could not issue an arrest warrant for Ravindran, an Indian citizen living in Dubai, since the US does not have an extradition treaty with the US. 

Ravindran’s attorney, however, argued that his client did everything he could to find the money, but Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath claimed they had no idea. “Everybody has their own family dynamic,” the attorney quipped.

The missing money amounting to $553 million is at the centre of the fight between Byju’s lenders who are owed more than $1.2 billion and the company. The lenders had previously seized the control of a holding company, which is now in bankruptcy under Dorsey.