ED searches Byju Ravindran's offices, residential premises in Bengaluru

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), in a statement, said that it has conducted searches and seizure action at three premises. These three premises include two business units and one residential property in Bengaluru in the case of Raveendaran Byju and his company ‘Think & Learn Private Limited’ under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

During the search & seizure action various incriminating documents and digital data were seized. FEMA searches also revealed that the company has received foreign direct investment to the tune of Rs 28,000 crore (approx.) during the period from 2011 to 2023.

Further, the company has also remitted Rs 9,754 crore (approx.) to various foreign jurisdictions during the same period in the name of overseas direct investment. The company has booked around Rs 944 crore in the name of advertisement and marketing expenses including the amount remitted to foreign jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the company accepted that the recent visit by officials from the ED in Bangalore was related to a routine inquiry under FEMA.

“We have been completely transparent with the authorities and have provided them with all the information they have requested. We have nothing but the utmost confidence in the integrity of our operations, and we are committed to upholding the highest standards of compliance and ethics. We will continue to work closely with the authorities to ensure that they have all the information they need, and we are confident that this matter will be resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner,” the company said.

The ED statement also said that the company has not prepared its financial statements since financial year 2020-21 and has not got the accounts audited, which is mandatory. Hence, the genuineness of the figures provided by the company are being cross examined by the banks. Investigation against the platform was initiated on the basis of various complaints received from various private persons. “During investigation conducted by the ED, several summonses were issued to the founder & CEO Raveendaran Byju, however, he always remained evasive and never appeared during the investigation. Further investigation is under progress,” said the statement from ED.

“We want to emphasize that it is business as usual at BYJU'S. We are committed to delivering high-quality educational products and services to our customers across India and the world,” said Byju’s in a statement.

3 points that ED's statement says are of concern:

• Financial statements not available since Feb 2020-21
• Accounts not audited, which is mandatory
• Several summons issued to founder and CEO, but he always remained evasive