In a dramatic escalation of the ongoing legal confrontation, Byju's founder Byju Raveendran is mounting an aggressive counteroffensive against his accusers, preparing to file a massive $2.5 billion damages claim in US courts while challenging a recent billion-dollar ruling against him.
The Billion-Dollar Default Ruling
A US bankruptcy court delivered a significant blow to the embattled edtech entrepreneur last week, ordering Raveendran to pay more than $1 billion in a default ruling. The court determined that the former corporate star had refused to cooperate with legal efforts to locate nearly half of the proceeds from a $1.2 billion US term loan arranged in 2021.
However, Raveendran strongly contests the grounds of this decision, arguing that the court did not grant him the 30 days he had requested to arrange for a US attorney to properly argue his case. The founder has vowed to appeal against what he considers an unjust order while simultaneously launching his own legal offensive.
The $2.5 Billion Counterattack
In a parallel legal maneuver, Raveendran will bring a substantial $2.5 billion damage suit against Glas Trust and those assisting the investment firm in a separate US court proceeding. This countersuit represents one of the most aggressive responses by an Indian entrepreneur to international legal challenges.
Central to Raveendran's defense is his claim that the entire $533 million in 'alpha funds' is fully accounted for, directly contradicting Glas Trust's allegations that the money was diverted by the company's founders. The founder maintains that the majority of these funds, specifically $479.6 million, followed a legitimate and documented path from OCI—the loan arranger—through Revere Capital to Byju's entities, and ultimately to Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (TLPL), the parent company.
Documented Money Trail and Acquisition Funding
Raveendran asserts that TLPL utilized these funds to finance its $3 billion acquisition spree in that year, including the high-profile purchase of Aakash Educational Services. This money trail, he emphasizes, has been established in documents that Glas Trust itself served on Byju's for the legal proceedings in the US court.
In a strategic legal move, Raveendran has also submitted a motion in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court seeking correction of what he characterizes as a premature damages determination. He argues that the court mistakenly included a damages award as part of a sanction order for delayed document production, despite Glas Trust withdrawing its request for a damages ruling in September and no liability being decided on the merits of the case.
The unfolding legal drama represents a critical juncture for one of India's most prominent edtech companies, with the founder taking an uncompromising stance against what he portrays as procedural unfairness and unsubstantiated allegations in the US legal system.
