"I Am the Byju of BYJU'S": CEO Raveendran Demands Probe into EY-Glas Trust ‘Collusion’

Byju Raveendran, the CEO and founder of the troubled edtech company Byju's, has finally spoken up, posting an emotional message on LinkedIn.

Beginning with the line, "I am the Byju of BYJU'S," he set out his side of the story on the collapse of the company, accusing misrepresentations and stating that he has sold all his assets "to keep his mission alive."

In his blog post, Raveendran also called for a "thorough investigation" of suspected collusion and fraud between the firm's lender Glas Trust, consultancy firm EY, and former resolution professional Pankaj Srivastava.

"I am the Byju of BYJU'S, and I am here today. I should have been here earlier. But I was too engaged in building my company. Then I was too engaged in saving everything I built. I had been desiring to meet you in person for a very long time. But I was waiting to see justice done and the truth triumph. Today, I don't want to wait. Today, I can't wait," he wrote.

Allegations of Collusion
Raveendran's remark comes after a viral LinkedIn post by an EY India whistleblower, who accused the audit firm of conspiring with Glas Trust and Pankaj Srivastava to drive Byju's into insolvency.

"Me and a few employees were given a paper with irrefutable proof of criminal conspiracy among EY India, which I otherwise respected a lot, Glas Trust, who purports to act on behalf of the lenders they do not represent, and the IRP (resolution professional Srivastava), who was appointed by an Indian court to save Byju's but went on to destroy it," he alleged.

Demanding an official investigation, he called on the authorities to "immediately" look into the issue.

Legal Battles and Boardroom Disputes
Srivastava last month rebutted the recommended disciplinary action by the Bengaluru bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). On another note, the former promoters of Byju's, such as Raveendran's brother, Riju Raveendran, too have filed for NCLAT against the ruling of NCLT in reinstalling Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance within Byju's Committee of Creditors (CoC).

On January 29, the NCLT ordered disciplinary action against Srivastava and reversed his order to keep Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance out of the CoC.

In another turn of events, Byju's co-founder and wife of Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath, subsequently posted on LinkedIn: "Byju's post and account were removed. Investigating why. But no issue. Here we go again :)"

From Edtech Pioneer to Crisis
Byju Raveendran, who was once the face of India's edtech boom, had drawn investment from international investors such as Sequoia Capital and Mark Zuckerberg's Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Raveendran, a Kerala-based teacher-turned-entrepreneur, began tutoring students in Bengaluru in 2005. His classes became so popular that he soon had to hold sessions in stadiums. Encouraged by this success, he launched a digital platform specializing in math, science, and English.

During the pandemic, Byju's experienced phenomenal growth, purchasing companies such as Great Learning Pvt. Ltd., Epic!, and Aakash Educational Services in 2021. By early 2022, its valuation reached almost $22 billion.

But fissures soon showed. A Bloomberg report noted that higher U.S. interest rates pushed up Byju's cost of borrowing, while banks financing student loans pulled back. That took a toll on Byju's earnings, as most customers used loans for long-duration courses.

By the end of 2022, delays in making financial disclosures unsettled investors, triggering debt talks. By mid-2023, the crisis intensified with creditors suing Byju's Alpha in a Delaware court for control over a subsidiary said to hold untapped loan proceeds. Byju's suspended interest payments and blamed lenders, such as Redwood Capital Management, for concocting the crisis.

With court cases going on across India and the U.S., the future of Byju is questionable, and concerns regarding Raveendran's leadership continue to increase.