In a dramatic development, a US judge has declared a manager from Byju’s, an Indian edtech firm, as ‘not truthful’ regarding the whereabouts of $533 million. The funds in question are claimed by lenders that complain they should have been the rightful recipients of the sum.
The individual implicated is Riju Ravindran, brother of the founder of Byju’s, and a director at Think & Learn Pvt. According to the judge’s pronouncement in a Wilmington, Delaware court, Ravindran not only failed to reasonably search for the missing funds but also deceived the court regarding it.
The judge, John Dorsey, explicitly stated that Ravindran’s testimony lacked truthfulness. This adds a significant measure of severity to the issue at hand. Dorsey’s statement indicates that he believes Ravindran either knows the hiding place of the funds and has chosen not to reveal it or has otherwise lied to the court. The ramifications of such a statement could be considerable, both for Ravindran personally and for Byju’s as an organization.
The legal implications include potential financial penalties for contempt of court, and could lead to further complications down the line. Given the size of the sum involved and the stakes for the lenders, this perception of dishonesty by a senior executive at the firm is unlikely to aid the case of Byju’s.
You can read the complete story at Bloomberg Industry Law.