Byju’s, a well-known Indian tech company, is in serious trouble. Vinay Ravindra, the chief content officer, and his ally Rajendran Vellapalath are facing big financial penalties in the US. A judge is looking into their actions of taking money and assets from companies that are under court control.
Last Tuesday, a judge named John T. Dorsey said he might make Ravindra and Vellapalath prove why they shouldn’t be punished for their actions. If they can’t explain themselves, they might have to pay a lot of money in fines. Byju’s owes over $1.2 billion to lenders and bought two US education companies for $820 million a while ago.
Byju’s founder, Byju Raveendran, is dealing with bankruptcy in India after failing to pay US lenders. A Nebraska businessman named William Hailer shared that he spent months trying to help Raveendran regain control of Byju’s US software companies. However, the attempt failed, and he ended up accusing Raveendran of using bad business practices.
The lenders want the judge to punish Ravindra, Vellapalath, and Vellapalath’s tech company, Voizzit, for allegedly taking more than $1 million in cash and valuable resources from the US education companies, Epic! Creations and Tangible Play.
Vellapalath joined the court hearing via video from Dubai. He claimed that Voizzit owned Epic! and Tangible Play, and since Voizzit loaned Byju’s over $100 million in 2023, it had the right to take control. However, the judge did not find his explanation believable.
Byju Raveendran is trying hard to take back control of his struggling education tech company. Meanwhile, he faces accusations of hiding $533 million that should have been paid to creditors. Byju’s is also dealing with financial problems in India, where a court expert is trying to find ways to pay back the lenders.
