Trouble is mounting for edtech major Byju’s. Reports claim that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a notice to the firm asking it to pay Rs 9,000 crore for allegedly violating foreign funding laws.
Byju’s has denied receiving any such communication from the central agency. Taking to X, the company wrote, “Byju’s unequivocally denies media reports that insinuate Byju’s of any FEMA violation. The company has not received any such communication from authorities.”
The development comes a day after the company failed to meet the deadline to clear the dues of the employees who were laid off. According to Moneycontrol, Byju’s had shifted the date of payment from September to November. The employees were reportedly promised their dues by 17th November.
The financial allegations come following ED raids at three premises in Bengaluru in a case linked to Byju’s founder and CEO Byju Raveendaran and his company ‘Think & Learn Private Limited’ under the FEMA provisions in May.
Byju’s reportedly received foreign direct investment (FDI) amounting to about Rs 28,000 crore between 2011 and 2023. The edtech major reportedly remitted around Rs 9,754 crore to foreign jurisdictions during the same time in the name of overseas direct investment.
According to the ED, Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, which runs the ed-tech platform BYJUs, had spent around Rs 944 crore in the name of advertising and marketing expenses.
At the same time, the company did not prepare its financial statements from the financial year 2020-21 and did not audit the accounts. Therefore, it is being investigated.
The ED raids came following complaints made by private individuals. Many summonses were issued in Raveendran’s name, but he avoided ED and never appeared.
