The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has approached the Karnataka High Court in India to enforce an arbitral award of $235 million against Byju Raveendran, founder of the prominent edtech company Byju, and his investment firm, Byju's Investments Pte Ltd (BIPL).
The petition, launched on August 12, seeks confirmation of the arbitral award as a court decree and an injunction against the transfer of assets held by Raveendran and BIPL in India. This court action extends a long-running battle between QIA through its subsidiary, Qatar Holding, and Raveendran over a loan deal entered into in 2022.
In 2022, Raveendran signed a $150 million loan to Byju Investments, which Qatar Holding underwrote. The financial support was used to partially fund the acquisition of Aakash Educational Services, a coaching center operator. However, the loan contract expressly barred the transfer of pledged stocks in Aakash. Despite this condition, Raveendran sold the shares to another Singapore-based company under his control, thereby violating contract terms.
Following consecutive repayment defaults, Qatar Holding requested to repay the loan early, totaling $235 million. As Raveendran and BIPL did not fulfill their commitments, the case was referred to the arbitration court in Singapore in March 2024.
An emergency arbitrator granted a worldwide freezing order against the assets of BIPL and Raveendran, which the Singapore High Court confirmed. An arbitration panel made the final award on July 14, ordering the company to pay immediately the sum of 235 million dollars with accrued interest.
A recent petition filed by Qatar Holding in Bangalore aims to execute the arbitral award by holding it to be a court decree. The petition further seeks a court order to stop the further migration of assets, both movable and immovable, belonging to Byju Raveendran and his investment firm, Byju's Investments, in India. This petition signifies a new phase in the court case of Byju and his financial dealings, demonstrating the severity of the case and its cross-border nature.
The petition also notes the rather high interest that has accumulated on the arbitral award. The 4% annual interest, compounded daily from February 28, 2024, has resulted in an additional $14 million in charges. This raises the owed sum to roughly $249 million, which raises concerns regarding the financial seriousness of the case.
Byju Raveendran's legal problems are not limited to the Qatar Holding case. In the US, a court ordered Raveendran held in civil contempt after he refused to produce documents relating to a $1.2 billion term loan case. In April 2024, lenders in the U.S. filed a case against Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and former executive Anita Kishore, alleging they misused $533 million.
Furthermore, in India, the parent company of Byju, Think & Learn, is involved in an insolvency case in which the founders, Raveendran and Gokulnath, are accused of fraud and asset transfer in one incident. These continued court cases have even complicated the process that faces Raveendran, and it is not yet clear how the court cases will end.