Byju’s Alpha Inc., the United States-based special purpose finance vehicle of Indian ed-tech unicorn Byju’s, has sued its parent company, Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, brother Riju Ravindran, and consigliere Anita Kishore, for alleged theft of $533 million, the SPV said in an official release on April 9.
The case filed in US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, alleges that the accused “orchestrated theft of $533 million” in a “web of deception designed and executed to defraud lenders”.
The lawsuit alleges Byju along with Divya Gokulnath, Riju Ravindran, and Anita Kishore “fraudulently transferred loan proceeds, misrepresented financial information, and prevented lenders from exercising remedies”.
Livemint has reached out to Byju’s for a response to the allegations. This copy will be updated with the statement once it comes.
Byju’s Alpha Files Lawsuit Alleging Fraud Against BYJU’s: Details
According to Alpha, the SPV was established by BYJU’S to receive proceeds of a $1.5 billion term loan B (aka Alpha Funds). Its lawsuit Alpha said comes after the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware ruled against parent company Byju’s and Byju Raveendran in the $533 million theft case.
What are the allegations? The named parties are alleged to have “co-orchestrated and executed a lawless scheme to conceal and steal $533 million of loan proceeds”, according to Alpha’s lawsuit. It claims that the executives “deliberately hid” asset belonging to Alpha and were “repeatedly deceptive” about the location of the money “in order to steal funds rightfully owed to the lenders”.
In its lawsuit, Alpha is seeking:
