A Singapore court has sentenced Byju Raveendran, founder of the collapsed edtech giant Byju's, to six months in prison for contempt of court, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The court found that Raveendran had repeatedly disobeyed multiple orders concerning his assets, with non-compliance dating back to April 2024.
He has been instructed to surrender himself to authorities, pay the legal costs of S$90,000 (approximately $70,500), and submit documents establishing his legal ownership of Beeaar Investco Pte, a corporate entity that held shares in a related company. His current whereabouts are unknown, and it is unclear whether he is presently in Singapore.
The contempt proceedings were brought by Qatar Holdings, a subsidiary of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, which had invested in Byju's during a period when the company was already cutting jobs. Qatar Holdings, which had previously secured a $235 million arbitration award against Byju's via the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, was represented by Drew & Napier. Byju's Investments was represented by Fervent Chambers.
The Singapore sentence adds to a widening ring of legal exposure. A US bankruptcy court last year issued a default judgment of over $1.07 billion against Raveendran personally, holding him liable for the movement and concealment of funds from Byju's Alpha, the company's Delaware-incorporated financing vehicle for a $1.2 billion term loan from a global lending consortium.
Raveendran has denied all allegations, stating the US ruling was issued without giving him the opportunity to present a defence.
NOTE: No public statement from Singapore courts, the Singapore judiciary, or any Singapore government body has been published on this matter, as of the publication of this story. All reporting originates from Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources "familiar with the matter."
