US Court Orders Byju Raveendran to Pay $1.07 Billion in Default Judgment

New Delhi, Nov 2025 : In a major legal setback for Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran, a US bankruptcy court has ordered him to pay more than $1.07 billion, holding him personally liable for allegedly misappropriating and concealing funds belonging to Byju’s Alpha, the company’s US-based financing subsidiary. The ruling was issued by Delaware Bankruptcy Court Judge Brendan Shannon, according to multiple media reports.

The judgment comes after Raveendran repeatedly failed to comply with court directives to appear before the court and produce essential documents. As a result, the court issued a default judgment—a legal provision that allows a court to decide a case in favor of the other party when one side does not participate or ignores orders, eliminating the need for a trial.

Raveendran has strongly denied all allegations and announced that he will appeal the decision. In a statement, he argued that the ruling was delivered hastily, preventing him from presenting his defense. “In our view, the court overlooked a crucial point. Byju Raveendran should be allowed to present his defense, and the expedited trial denied him the right to do so,” the statement read.

He further claimed that the judgment ignored the fact that GLAS Trust, the lender representative, was aware that the funds from Byju’s Alpha’s $1.2 billion loan were not used for personal benefit by him or any BYJU’S founder. Instead, he said the money was utilised for the operations of Think & Learn Private Limited (TLPL), the parent company of Byju’s.

Byju’s Alpha was incorporated in Delaware in 2021 as a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to manage the massive term loan from global lenders. The entity had no operational activities and primarily held loan proceeds. However, court filings show that $533 million was transferred from Alpha to Camshaft Capital, a small Miami-based hedge fund. The money was later moved through associated entities such as Inspilearn and eventually into an offshore trust, before being returned to Alpha without any clear commercial justification.

The court’s ruling marks a significant moment in the ongoing financial and legal challenges surrounding the once high-flying edtech giant, raising further questions about the handling of funds within Byju’s global operations.