New Delhi: It’s a curious case of once the most valued Indian startup, now down to a fraction of its peak value of $22 billion. However, a dip in valuation is not the only problem staring at BYJU’S. Go down the long rabbit hole and there’s no wonderland, but a quicksand that’s sucking in the founder and the only remaining board members – Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Ravindran.
In the pit of the quicksand is a crocodile – lenders that once gave BYJU’S Alpha – the edtech’s US subsidiary– a $1.2 billion loan in 2021 when the company was on an expansion spree. However, Byju’s was neither able to repay the loan, nor the interest on it, forcing lenders to take BYJU’S Alpha to the US Bankruptcy Court in the district of Delaware last year. In a March hearing this year, Judge John Dorsey asked Riju Ravindran to declare where $533 million from the $1.2 billion loan proceeds were stashed! On May 22, 2 months after issuing the order – Riju now faces contempt of court for not declaring the whereabouts of the hidden, or perhaps stolen, $533 million.
A hedge fund and UAE domicile
At the centre of this loan, diversion, and alleged hiding of money was a hedge fund named Camshaft, whose manager William Cameron Morton, barely in his 20s, apparently helped hide the money. Morton has reportedly fled the US, citing medical reasons, to avoid arrested. Riju, like his brother Byju, and sister-in-law Divya Gokulnath, has shifted domicile to the UAE, living the rich life in Dubai. UAE doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the US, so an arrest warrant against Riju, the sole director of Byju’s Alpha, won’t help!
Where is the first family of BYJU’s?
The conspicuous silence of the allegedly conspiring first family of BYJU’S raises a simple question: Have they stolen $533 million or about Rs 4,400 crore at current exchange rate? Judge John Dorsey’s statements seem to suggest so. Here’s what he said: “I conclude Mr Ravindran’s testimony is not truthful, then he either knows where the funds are located, or is intentionally avoiding obtaining the information from other sources. I therefore find that he is in contempt of my previous order to provide the information.” It’s time for Byju’s to come out of hiding, break their silence, and own up the mess they’ve created. Problems at Byju’s are aplenty and it’s time to take tough decisions to clean up the mess. As the king says in Alice in Wonderland: Begin at the beginning… and go on till the end: then stop.”
Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and brother Riju are at the centre of multiple controversies — the most recent being the curious case of $533 million from a $1.2 billion loan secured by BYJU’S Alpha, the US subsidiary of the India-born edtech BYJU’s. Read on to know more. Companies Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
