Byju: On the basis of a complaint from a woman who enrolled for coaching to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, has issued an order against a staff member of ed-tech company Byju’s and movie superstar Shah Rukh Khan for alleged fraudulent behaviour and unfair trade practise. According to the commission’s order issued on Wednesday, ‘The Rs. 1.08 lakh in fees that complainant Priyanka Dixit paid at the time of admission in 2021 must be refunded, along with 12% annual interest, as well as Rs. 5,000 in litigation costs and Rs. 50,000 in damages for physical and emotional suffering.’
CEO of Byju assures staff writing a memo
According to the commission, actor Khan and the local manager of Byju’s are responsible for making the payment “jointly and severally” to Dixit. Recently, the CEO of the popular online education portal BYJU’s in Bengaluru wrote a memo to his staff a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out search and seizure operations at three of Byju Raveendran and his business Think & Learn Private Limited’s premises. According to him, the business has brought more FDI to India than any other startup, and it complies with all applicable regulations governing foreign exchange in full.
The company was previously valued at USD 22 billion
With the support of investors like Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, Mary Meeker of Bond Capital, General Atlantic, BlackRock, and Sequoia Capital, Byju’s is one of India’s most valuable businesses. The company was previously valued at USD 22 billion. ‘As we are funded by 70+ impact investors who have satisfactorily performed due diligence on our operations, including all FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) compliance,’ Raveendran wrote in the memo distributed to the staff late on Saturday. ‘We are confident that the authorities will also come to the same conclusion.’
ED conducted raids on Raveendran’s properties
In response to alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations, ED conducted raids on Raveendran’s properties. According to the ED, the company got approximately Rs 28,000 crore in foreign direct investment between 2011 and 2023. It also transferred Rs 9,754 crore to various foreign jurisdictions during that time under the heading of overseas direct investments.
Cross-border transactions connected to marketing and branding efforts of Byju’s-Raveendran
According to Raveendran’s statement in the internal communication, the corporation had shifted some money outside to pay for its international acquisitions. According to Raveendran, Byju’s invested Rs 9,000 crore over the years in a number of foreign acquisitions as part of its growth strategy. He continued, ‘The current visit by the ED is an enquiry under FEMA, Our designated representatives have already supplied the data requested by and provided to the officers in connection with the FDI raised, overseas investments made, and cross-border transactions connected to marketing and branding efforts of Byju’s.’
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Byju’s was actively assisting the law enforcement-CEO
‘In addition, I want to emphasise that Byju’s has attracted more foreign direct investment (FDI) to India than any other Indian startup (Rs 28,000 crore), and as a result, we have been able to employ more than 55,000 skilled people. We are now the largest startup employer in India as a result.’ Raveendran Byju continued by saying, “Byju’s has made every attempt to fully comply with all applicable foreign currency legislation.” He added that Byju’s was actively assisting the law enforcement.
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