Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted searches and seizure action at three premises (2 Business and 1 residential) in Bengaluru in the case of Byju Raveendaran and his company Think & Learn Private Limited’ under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) on Saturday.

The company runs popular online education portal in the name of Byju’s. During the search and seizure action various incriminating documents and digital data was seized.The searches revealed that the ed-tech unicorn has received foreign direct investment (FDI) to the tune of ₹28,000 crore (approx) during 2011-2023.

Further, the company has also remitted roughly ₹9,754 crore to various foreign jurisdictions during the same period in the name of overseas direct investment.

Byju and his firm Think & Learn Pvt Ltd has booked around ₹944 crore in the name of advertisement and marketing expenses including the amount remitted to the foreign jurisdiction.

Besides, the company has not prepared its financial statements since FY 2021. and has not got the accounts audited, according to the press statement.

The probe against the platform was initiated based on various complaints received from private persons.

During the investigation conducted by the ED, several summonses were issued to the founder Byju Raveendaran, however, he remained evasive, the press statement added. Further investigation is under process.
Byju Raveendran is the founder of edtech paltform BYJU’s. He is the second-richest entrepreneur in the global education sector, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2023. His net worth stands at $3.3 billion.

Byju’s, which was founded in 2011 and launched its learning app in 2015, saw a business boom during the coronavirus pandemic. However, post-pandemic when the schools reopened, the popularity of the app began to wane.

This year in February, Tiger Global-backed Byju’s fired 1,500 employees, including senior executives, in the second layoff exercise.