BYJU’S Cofounders’ Defamation Suit Desperate & Meritless: Glas Trust

A day after cofounders of BYJU’S threatened to file a defamation lawsuit against certain “parties”, Glas Trust, a consortium of the troubled edtech startup’s lenders, has reportedly termed the move an “attempt to distract” from the facts.

“Byju Raveendran’s (BYJU’S cofounder) latest act of threatening defamation claims against Glas Trust and the term loan B (TLB) lenders is a transparent attempt to distract from the facts, coming on the heels of a US federal court holding him in contempt. The fact of the matter is that every court to consider the issues has ruled against Raveendran and his cohorts,” Glas Trust said as per news agency PTI.

Not stopping there, Glas Trust also reportedly called Raveendran’s “threats” of defamation suit as “desperate and meritless”, adding that he continues to “unlawfully conceal what happened to the missing $533 Mn”.

The consortium of lenders also reportedly alleged that judgments exceeding $533 Mn have been entered against Raveendran’s allies, “including for their fraudulent conduct”. 

“Raveendran’s brother was found by a Delaware federal court to be untruthful and one of the most incompetent directors in Delaware’s history. A Delaware federal court stated its intention to make a criminal referral when Raveendran attempted to bribe a witness and had held Raveendran in contempt,” Glas Trust reportedly alleged.

The consortium of lenders added that it has acted within its rights “at all times”.

Meanwhile, the legal counsel for BYJU’S cofounder, J Michael McNutt, reportedly shot back and called the allegations levelled by Glas Trust as “incomplete and misleading”. As per PTI, McNutt claimed that Glas Trust was “continuing to “distract from the true situation in India”.

“It is incorrect to claim that US Courts have ruled against Raveendran and his ‘co-horts’ on the relevant issues. The proceedings in Delaware against Byju have only just commenced, and Byju has not even submitted his response to the complaint,” the counsel reportedly said.

McNutt also reportedly added that Raveendran has so far not been found guilty of any wrongdoing by any court in any jurisdiction, adding that the contempt order against Raveendran is being contested. The counsel also noted that the US bankruptcy court’s order against Think & Learn (BYJU’S parent) and Ravindran was without any legal representation.

This comes a day after the counsel for cofounders of the troubled edtech, Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath, said that the duo were planning to take legal action to seek monetary damages to the tune of $2.5 Bn from “parties” which have caused damage to them “personally and their businesses”.

At the time, McNutt had termed the “conduct” of Glas Trust as “reprehensible and improper”.

At the heart of all this is the $1.2 Bn TLB extended by lenders to BYJU’S in 2021. However, much has transpired since then. In March 2025, a US bankruptcy court ruled in favour of the creditors over the edtech startup’s alleged fraudulent transfer of $533 Mn out of the $1.2 Bn loan.

Following the ruling, BYJU’S Alpha, controlled by the lenders, filed a lawsuit against Raveendran, Gokulnath, and company advisor Anita Kishore for the alleged misappropriation of the funds. Once valued at $22 Bn, BYJU’S has steadily crumbled in the past few years and is now starting at insolvency.