Byju Raveendran Alleged To Have Plotted Move To Regain Control Of BYJU’S Subsidiary

Amid ongoing insolvency proceedings against BYJU’S, its founder Byju Raveendran has been alleged to have tried to use hidden loan money to regain control of BYJU’S-owned US company Epic!, which is currently held up in bankruptcy proceedings.

According to a filing in the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, Raveendran “manipulated” Nebraska-based businessman William R Hailer into acquiring more than $1.2 Bn worth of loans from BYJU’S US creditors, Bloomberg reported.

Raveendran allegedly wanted to swap that debt to buy Epic! Creations, a subsidiary of BYJU’S post a 2021 acquisition, but the plan failed.

“Over the past several months, I have been used as pawn in BYJU’S manipulation of law,” Hailer reportedly said in his written testimony against Raveendran.

Hailer will appear before a federal court on Thursday to give his testimony on behalf of a trustee who plans to sell Epic! to raise money for US-based lenders of BYJU’S.

BYJU’S CEO Raveendran allegedly transferred $11.2 Mn to Rose Lake Inc. This company was run by Hailer and then bought by the said US trustee.

Hailer was purportedly supposed to convince lenders that he was flush with cash and then return the money to Raveendran. The money sent to Hailer reportedly came from UK-based logistics firm OCI Ltd that “received hundreds of millions of dollars in loan proceeds that US lenders have been trying to reclaim,” the report said, citing the filing.

This comes a day after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) blocked Aakash, a subsidiary of BYJU’S, from amending its Articles of Association (AoA), a move that thwarted Raveendran’s alleged plan to dilute his stake in the firm

Earlier it was reported that Glas Trust, a consortium representing US-based creditors who lent $1.2 Bn to BYJU’S, moved NCLT seeking a stay on the the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) called by Aakash.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) has filed an application before the NCLT to withdraw its insolvency petition against BYJU’S. The move has been opposed by the Byju Raveendran-led startup’s creditors Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance.