Byju Raveendran Alleged To Have Asked US Ally To Flee Before Testimony

BYJU’S founder Byju Raveendran allegedly asked Nebraska businessman William Hailer not to testify in a federal court about the former’s efforts to regain control of Epic!, a US-based subsidiary of the edtech company.

In his testimony before US Bankruptcy Judge John T Dorsey on Thursday (November 21), Hailer alleged that Raveendran sent him a plane ticket to Dubai, two days before he was set to appear before the Delaware court, Bloomberg reported, citing court filings.

Further, the businessman alleged that the founder of BYJU’S also offered him a job that paid $500,000 on the condition that he went to Dubai and started working.

“He [Byju Raveendran] asked me not to testify. He said I should come to Dubai and he said the salary would start on day one,” Hailer reportedly said in his testimony.

It is pertinent to mention that Hailer has accused Raveendran of using money that he allegedly hid from US-based lenders of BYJU’S to buy out edtech company Epic! Creations, which is currently held up in bankruptcy proceedings.

Hailer reportedly alleged that Raveendran “manipulated” him into acquiring more than $1.2 Bn worth of loans from BYJU’S US creditors.

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

This came on the heels of reports that 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 this month, the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) moved the NCLT to withdraw its insolvency petition against BYJU’S.

In October, the Supreme Court annulled the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) ruling that sanctioned an INR 158 Cr settlement between the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) and BYJU’S.