Byju’s founder appeals Singapore jail sentence in QIA dispute

• Case concerning $150m QIA loan
• Byju Raveendran sentenced
• Six months for contempt of court

The founder of collapsed Indian education technology company Byju’s is appealing a Singapore High Court ruling that sentenced him to six months in prison for contempt of court in a dispute with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

Byju Raveendran, founder of Bangalore-based Think & Learn, known as Byju’s, was sentenced last month after being found in contempt for allegedly disobeying multiple orders relating to his assets, according to Reuters.

Singapore law allows imprisonment for contempt in a civil court when a person is found to have failed to comply with its orders.

The court found Raveendran had disobeyed orders dating to April 2024, Reuters reported, including transferring assets to a third party while subject to a freezing order. The ruling has not yet been published.

“We do not agree with the findings of the court and consider that these proceedings were premature,” Michael McNutt, Raveendran’s legal adviser, told AGBI. He said an appeal would be filed soon.

Byju’s was one of the world’s most valuable education technology companies during the pandemic, reaching a valuation of $22 billion in 2022 and sponsoring both the Fifa World Cup in Qatar and India’s cricket team before the business collapsed.

The contempt proceedings stem from a dispute over a $150 million loan provided by Qatar Holdings, a subsidiary of QIA, to Byju’s Investments, a Singapore-based investment company of which Raveendran was guarantor.

QIA alleges the loan fell into default, prompting arbitration in Singapore and London. McNutt said an interim partial award issued in Singapore last July ordered Raveendran and Byju’s Investments to repay $235 million, including interest.

Raveendran is contesting the Singapore arbitration’s interim ruling.

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In the high court’s contempt ruling, Raveendran was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay costs of S$90,000 (US$70,000).

McNutt said that in relation to contempt of court, the orders his client was accused of breaching were based on arbitration rulings that remain under challenge.

McNutt pointed to a statement issued on behalf of Raveendran in the Financial Times in which Raveendran said the jail sentence arose from “disputes over document disclosure in ongoing proceedings – not a finding of fraud, dishonesty or any wrongdoing”.

Raveendran added in the statement that lenders including QIA have “agreed in principle” to a settlement to resolve the dispute. He attended the hearing by video link and was ordered to surrender himself to officials, the FT reported. A person familiar with his whereabouts told the newspaper Raveendran was not in Singapore.

A QIA spokesperson said in a statement to AGBI that “no settlement appears achievable”.

“QIA will continue to pursue the repayment of the debts owed to it and recovery on the award in its favour,” the spokesperson said.