A Singapore court has sentenced Byju Raveendran, the founder of edtech company Byju’s, to six months in jail for contempt after allegedly failing to comply with multiple court orders linked to his assets, according to Bloomberg News.
The court directed Byju to surrender to authorities, pay legal costs of SGD 90,000 (about USD 70,500), and submit documents proving his ownership of Beeaar Investco Pte, an entity that held shares in a related company.
The court reportedly ordered Byju Raveendran to serve jail time, as he did not comply with multiple orders related to his assets dating back to April 2024.
The order marks the latest setback for the once-celebrated edtech entrepreneur, who is facing mounting legal pressure from investors and lenders across jurisdictions. In the US, creditors are continuing efforts to recover losses tied to a USD 1.2 billion term loan.
The case in the Singapore court is being pursued by a subsidiary of the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which participated in a funding round for the tech firm as it was cutting jobs and laying off staff, Bloomberg News reported.
In a statement, Byju Raveendran expressed his disappointment with the Singapore court decision. “I am disappointed that the recent Singapore court matter has been pursued and reported in a manner that creates a misleading impression about me, especially at a time when all key parties have almost concluded the settlement discussions.
“The lenders, including GLAS Trust and QIA, as well as other stakeholders, have been in discussions with the founders and other parties. A settlement has been agreed in principle, with only a few residual minor issues left to be finalised between certain parties. I have no role in those remaining issues,” he said.
Byju claimed that as part of the settlement discussions, the parties had also acknowledged that there had been no wrongdoing on his part or on the part of the other founders.
He also said that he had not been actively contesting several court proceedings in recent months as they had been working towards a settlement.
“All parties, the lenders and the founders, had in principle agreed not to actively pursue cases against each other and have effectively been at a standstill for the last three months. Against this backdrop, the decision by QIA to continue pressing this matter appears to be an unnecessary pressure tactic at a sensitive stage of the settlement process,” he alleged.
Founded by Byju, Think & Learn Pvt Ltd — better known as Byju’s — was once among India’s most valuable start-ups, attracting billions of dollars from global investors and becoming a symbol of the country’s startup boom.
