1 week Ago
Byju Raveendran, founder and chief executive of struggling edtech company Byju’s, has lodged a police complaint (FIR) against Pankaj Srivastava, the former resolution professional (RP) of Think & Learn, Glas Trust, which represents Byju’s US lenders, as well as a few employees from consulting firm EY.“FIR filed against those involved in a criminal conspiracy against Byju's: Pankaj, the RP who illegally handed over the insolvency process to Dinkar, Rahul & Lokesh from EY who are the agents of Glas, a collective of crooks,” Raveendran wrote in a post on X, sharing a photo of the FIR.He had earlier urged the authorities to launch a “thorough investigation” into alleged collusion and fraud by Glas Trust, EY and Srivastava.
This came after a whistleblower from EY India alleged that EY worked with Glas Trust, and was appointed by Srivastava to assist him in handling the insolvency proceedings.In a separate post, Raveendran said, “Is this fraud individual or institutional @Rajivmemani? If it's the former, you must suspend the culprits now. There are tons of proof that I will share.
There are burning questions you must answer.”Rajiv Memani is the chairman of EY India.Email queries sent to EY, Srivastava, and Glas Trust did not elicit any response.
The matter is related to Byju’s insolvency and the case involving the alleged fraud is currently being heard by both the NCLT and NCLAT. It came to light after the tribunal, in February, approved the appointment of Shailendra Ajmera, another EY employee, as the new RP.After the committee of creditors (CoC) of Byju’s parent firm Think & Learn passed a resolution to appoint Ajmera as the RP, Raveendran’s lawyers had opposed the move.
Senior advocate S Guru Krishna Kumar, representing Raveendran, had earlier argued that the entire CIRP process was vitiated by fraud.“EY, who were brought in as IRP facilitators, purported to declare that they were independent and disinterested. But then it turns out, from the material which has now come on record, that they were completely involved in the entire exercise,” Kumar had said.
In January, the NCLT directed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to initiate disciplinary action against Srivastava, who was removed as the resolution professional after it was found that he had misled the tribunal.Byju's is currently in the midst of insolvency proceedings, which began last year after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) moved the NCLT to recover Rs 158 crore that it was owed by the company for a sponsorship deal. Last August, the NCLAT had approved a settlement after Ravindran agreed to pay the money to the BCCI.
However, in October, the Supreme Court quashed the NCLAT ruling approving the settlement..
