Byju’s Files ₹1,597 Cr Lawsuit Against Dubai Partner Over Unpaid Dues

Byju’s troubles continue to mount with each passing day. The resolution professional (RP) of Think and Learn Pvt Ltd – the parent of crisis-hit edtech unicorn – has reportedly filed a ₹1,597 crore lawsuit against its Dubai-based partner ‘More Ideas General Trading’ over unpaid dues, according to a report published by The Economic Times.  

The petition was filed before the National Company Law Tribunal. It alleged that the Dubai-based entity has failed to transfer revenues from the sale of Byju’s products in the Middle East, the report said.

It is pertinent to note that More Ideas had entered into a revenue-sharing pact with Byju’s to distribute and promote its educations products across six Gulf countries – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain. However, the Dubai-based firm allegedly withheld significant payments owed to the edtech company under the agreement.

In addition, the lawsuit also names former Byju’s directors and cofounders – Byju Raveendran, Riju Ravindran, and Divya Gokulnath. It reportedly holds these three responsible for recovering the dues. The Byju’s cofounders have denied all allegations.

US Court Tightens Screws on Byju Raveendran

The Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware held founder Byju Raveendran in civil contempt for failing to comply with previous court orders related to limited expedited discovery.

The judge stated that Raveendran has missed all deadlines, did not show up in court, and failed to provide substantial documents. Hence, he directed Raveendran to comply with the discovery orders.

According to the US legal terminology, ‘discovery’ refers to the process through which parties exchange evidence and relevant information before a trial.

Responding to the order, J Michael McNutt, Senior Litigation Advisor, Lazareff Le Bars Eurl said that Byju's is aware of the Order for Civil Contempt issued on July 8 after a hearing held in June attended by his recently engaged legal counsel.

"Byju will address the Order in due course and reserves all rights. I wish to make clear that this Order relates only to discovery requested by the opposing parties. Byju contests the jurisdiction of the Court over him and reserves all rights," the advisor said.

The statement added, "...that Civil Contempt Order concerns requests for information that are duplicative of matters already before the Indian Courts. Byju and his counsel are addressing those matters before the Indian Courts as well."

This came after the court had ruled in favour of Byju's lenders in connection with the alleged fraudulent transfer of $533 million out of $1.2 term loan B to crisis-hit edtech major.