Byju’s founder sentenced to six months in jail by Singapore court, says ‘I am disappointed’

The edtech company Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran was sentenced to six months jail term by a Singapore court for contempt.

Byju Raveendran was ordered to serve jail time after the court said he had disobeyed multiple orders related to his assets dating back to April 2024, reports said.

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He has been instructed to surrender himself to officials, pay costs of $70,500 and provide documents proving his legal ownership of Beeaar Investco Pte, a corporate entity that held shares in a related company.

Responding to the court order, Raveendran said settlement discussions with lenders, including GLAS Trust and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and other stakeholders were already at an advanced stage.

“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,” he said in a statement, IANS reported.

Raveendran has claimed that parties involved in the settlement discussions earlier acknowledged that there was no wrongdoing on his part or on the part of other founders. “That is why it is deeply unfortunate that this matter is being used to create a contrary public narrative at this sensitive stage,” he added.The dispute is related to the acquisition of Aakash Educational Services shares. Singapore courts had issued orders linked to asset disclosures and ownership documents, and the court eventually found that Raveendran had failed to comply with multiple orders dating back to April 2024.

Byju’s had acquired Aakash in 2021 for nearly $1 billion. What was supposed to be one of the biggest deals in edtech space, it became another courtroom conflict. As insolvency proceedings unfolded, Aakash proposed a rights issue to raise fresh capital.

Founded in 2011 as Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, the company grew rapidly by tapping into education space.

Byju’s expanded aggressively into the US and other markets too.

In 2021, the edtech raised $1.2 billion term loan from overseas lenders which later become the centre of Byju’s collapse.