The court order deals yet another blow to Byju’s, once one of India’s biggest and most valuable startup firms.
A court in Singapore has sentenced Byju Raveendran, founder of Indian edtech company Byju’s, to six months in prison for contempt of court linked to alleged violations of asset-related orders issued in April 2024.
According to reports by Bloomberg, the Singapore court directed Raveendran to surrender to authorities, pay SGD 90,000 (approximately USD 70,500), and provide documents proving his legal ownership of Beeaar Investco Pte, a corporate entity holding shares in a related company.
Clarence Lun, a lawyer representing Byju’s, said the company is considering filing an appeal against the ruling and seeking a stay on the committal order.
The legal proceedings in Singapore are reportedly being led by a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, which had invested in Byju’s during a funding round when the company was undergoing restructuring and layoffs.
Reacting to the court order, Raveendran expressed disappointment over what he described as misleading portrayals of the case at a time when settlement discussions between lenders and founders were reportedly nearing conclusion.
In a statement shared on social media platform X, Raveendran claimed that lenders, including GLAS Trust and QIA, along with founders and stakeholders, had been engaged in advanced settlement discussions for months.
He stated that a settlement had been agreed upon in principle, with only minor unresolved issues remaining, and asserted that the parties involved had acknowledged there was “no wrongdoing” on his part or by other founders.
Raveendran described the case as a procedural contempt matter related to document disclosure disputes rather than allegations of fraud or dishonesty on the merits of the case.
He further claimed that all parties had informally agreed not to aggressively pursue legal actions against each other while broader settlement negotiations were ongoing, adding that the latest legal move appeared to be “an unnecessary pressure tactic.”
The founder has been directed to appear before the court again on June 15.
The latest ruling adds to the growing legal and financial challenges facing Byju’s, once regarded as one of India’s most valuable startup companies.
Over the past two years, the company has faced mounting legal disputes, investor conflicts, restructuring pressures, and bankruptcy proceedings in the United States linked to a USD 1.2 billion term loan raised in 2021.
