BENGALURU: The Delaware Bankruptcy Court has issued a summary judgment in favour of lenders and against Riju Ravindran (brother of Byju Raveendran, founder of the embattled education firm Byju's), Camshaft Capital Fund, and its affiliates, and Think & Learn. This is pertaining to term loan money amounting to $533 million.
The lenders of the $1.5 billion Term Loan B to Byju's Alpha, a Delaware special purpose financing vehicle established by edtech firm Byju's to receive proceeds of the term loans, in a statement said, “We are gratified the Court unequivocally recognised that Riju Ravindran, Camshaft, and Byju's together conducted a deliberate fraud on a global scale arising from the theft of $533 million."
They said, This is a significant step forward in the Lenders’ efforts to recover the stolen funds that are rightfully owed to them.”
The Order finds that Riju Ravindran, Camshaft Capital Fund and its affiliates, and Think & Learn, alongside Byju Raveendran, are responsible for orchestrating and executing an unlawful scheme that defrauded the lenders.
In 2021, Byju's established a US subsidiary Byju's Alpha to receive proceeds of the term loan. According to lenders, in 2022, Byju's Alpha, under the control of the Raveendran family (and prior to the brothers’ removal as director and officers of Byju's Alpha on March 3, 2023), transferred $533 million in term loan proceeds to Camshaft Capital Fund, LP, a sham hedge fund founded by William Morton.
In March 2023, Byju's Alpha’s limited partnership interest in Camshaft Capital Fund was transferred by Riju and Byju to Inspilearn, and then again transferred to, and then redeemed by an offshore trust of Inspilearn in February 2024. Subsequently, there was yet another transfer to a still undisclosed entity.
Meanwhile, immediately after the ruling against Byju's, Byju Raveendran in a LinkedIn post alleged criminal collusion involving EY India, GLAS Trust and the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) alleging that they worked against Byju's interests.
“I am sure a thorough investigation of this evidence will reveal the truth. I request the authorities to take that up immediately,” he added. He asked his employees both past and present to forgive him for his mistakes. "For me, every setback is just a setup for a greater comeback," he said.
In his post he added that, "I live with the guilt of putting my family through unimaginable misery. I live with the regret of not being able to fulfil the promises I once made to all my stakeholders. Trust me, we did everything in our capacity to stop the insolvency."