Alleges EY and lending firm of collusion & fraud
His statement follows a viral LinkedIn post by a whistleblower from EY India, which alleged that the audit firm worked with Glas Trust and was appointed by Srivastava to advise him on Byju’s insolvency proceedings.
Byju Raveendran, the Founder and CEO of the bankrupt edtech firm Byju’s, finally broke his silence last week, sharing an emotional post on LinkedIn. Beginning with the statement, “I am the Byju of Byju’s,” he detailed what went wrong and how the situation is being misrepresented. He said that he will now connect directly with the public, revealing that he has sold everything he owns “to keep his mission alive”.
Raveendran also called for a “thorough investigation” into alleged collusion and fraud involving the firm’s lender Glas Trust, consultancy firm EY, and former resolution professional Pankaj Srivastava.
“I am the Byju of Byju’s, and I am here now. I should have been here sooner. But I was too busy building my company. Then I was too busy saving everything I built. I have long been wanting to connect with you directly. But I was waiting for justice to be done and truth to prevail. Today, I do not want to wait. Today, I cannot wait,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
His statement follows a viral LinkedIn post by a whistleblower from EY India, which alleged that the audit firm worked with Glas Trust and was appointed by Srivastava to advise him on Byju’s insolvency proceedings.
“Me and several employees received a document with conclusive evidence of criminal collusion between EY India, which I otherwise held in high regard, Glas Trust, which claims to represent the lenders it does not represent, and the IRP (resolution professional Srivastava) who was appointed by an Indian court to protect Byju’s but ended up destroying it,” Raveendran wrote. “I am sure a thorough investigation of this evidence will reveal the truth. I request the authorities to take that up immediately,” he added.
Last month, the former resolution professional of insolvency-bound Byju’s, Pankaj Srivastava, approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), challenging the disciplinary action recommended against him by the Bengaluru bench of the NCLT.
Additionally, Byju’s former promoters and Byju Raveendran’s brother, Riju Raveendran, have also moved the NCLAT against the NCLT’s order reinstating Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance in the edtech firm’s Committee of Creditors (CoC).
On January 29, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed disciplinary proceedings against Byju’s resolution professional and overturned his decision to exclude Glas Trust and Aditya Birla Finance from the CoC.
However, Raveendran’s wife and Byju’s co-founder, Divya Gokulnath, claimed in another LinkedIn post, “Byju’s post and account were taken down. Investigating why. But no problem. Here we go again :)”
Byju Raveendran became a prominent figure in India’s push to establish itself as a tech hub, securing investments from global firms such as Sequoia Capital and Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
A teacher and engineer from Kerala, Raveendran started tutoring students in Bengaluru in 2005. His classes grew rapidly, attracting such large crowds that he eventually held sessions in stadiums to accommodate thousands of students. He later transformed his venture into a digital platform, launching a self-learning app focused on subjects like math, science, and English.