Posted by Bengaluru: The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has moved the Karnataka High Court seeking enforcement of an arbitral award against Indian entrepreneur Byju Raveendran. The sovereign wealth fund, acting through its subsidiary Qatar Holding LLC, is pursuing recovery of $235 million (about Rs 2,060 crore) from Raveendran and his investment vehicle Byju’s Investments Pte. Ltd.
Byju Raveendran, an Indian entrepreneur, investor and educator along with his wife Divya Gokulnath, co- founded a edutech startup Byju’s.
The enforcement petition, filed on 12 August, seeks recognition of the arbitral award as a court decree. It also requests an injunction to stop any transfer of assets by Raveendran or his entity, along with attachment and sale of their assets in India.
The award issued on 14 July, included interest of 4% per annum, compounded daily from February 2024. The accrued interest has already exceeded $14 million (around Rs.123 crore), taking the total obligation above $249 million (about Rs. 2,183 crore).
The dispute dates back to September 2022, when Qatar Holding extended $150 million in financing to Byju’s Investments. Byju Raveendran personally guaranteed a loan that helped finance the purchase of nearly 17.9 million shares in Aakash Educational Services Ltd. The agreement barred transfer of those shares, but Raveendran later moved them to another Singapore based entity under his control.
Following defaults, Qatar Holding terminated the financing and sought repayment. Arbitration began in Singapore in March 2024, with the Emergency Arbitrator imposing a global freezing order on the assets of Raveendran and his company. The Singapore High Court later confirmed the order.
The Indian enforcement petition comes as Raveendran faces mounting legal pressure overseas. In the U.S.. a court held him in contempt during bankruptcy proceedings and ordered him to pay 10,000 US dollars a day until he makes the required disclosures.
Meanwhile, BYJU’S, the company he co-founded, remains in insolvency proceedings, with stakeholders blaming its financial crisis on senior level mismanagement.
(Illustration created with AI assistance)