The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted searches at the Bengaluru residence of CEO of the ed-tech company Byju’s, Byju Raveendran, and the firm’s two offices.
As per an ED statement, the searches were conducted in connection with alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
“ED has conducted searches at 3 premises in Bengaluru in the case of Raveendaran Byju and his company ‘Think & Learn Private Limited’ (Byju online learning platform) under the provisions of FEMA. During the search, various incriminating documents and digital data was seized,” read a tweet by the ED.
During the searches, it was found that Byju’s Think & Learn Pvt Ltd had received foreign direct investment (FDI) worth around Rs 28,000 crore between 2011 and 2023, PTI news agency reports.
“FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) 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 ED said in a statement.
“The company has booked around Rs 944 crore in the name of Advertisement and Marketing expenses including the amount remitted to foreign jurisdiction. 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 from the banks,” the ED added.
“During the investigation conducted by the ED, several summonses were issued to the founder & CEO Raveendran Byju, however, he always remained evasive and never appeared during the investigation. Further investigation is under progress,” the ED statement said.
“We have received the summons and are compiling a transparent response based on facts to address the unsubstantiated complaints. We will clarify our position before the commission if required,” The Quint quoted a spokesperson of Byju’s as saying.
