US bankruptcy court issues ruling in favour of Byjus term loan lenders

The steering committee of the ad hoc group of term loan lenders (the “SteerCo”) of Byju’s $1.2 billion term loan today announced that the Judge John T. Dorsey of the United States bankruptcy court for the district of Delaware issued an order granting a preliminary injunction in favour of Byju’s Alpha, Inc. against Riju Ravindran, Inspilearn LLC, and Camshaft Capital Fund, LP and its affiliates (the defendants).

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The court also found that Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath were working in concert with the defendants and ordered them to comply with its ruling. Pursuant to the order, Byju, Divya, and the defendants are prohibited from further transferring or using any of the $533 million in loan proceeds previously held by Camshaft Capital Fund, LP and subsequently transferred to an unnamed, unknown offshore trust.

Freezing of assets

“This ruling confirms that Byju Raveendran himself is acting in concert with, among others, his brother, Riju, his wife, Divya, and fugitive William Morton, and that these individuals are continuing to intentionally defraud Byju’s lenders. The court-ordered freezing of assets is an important step towards recovering the missing $533 million, and we will take all necessary legal actions to recover what we are rightfully owed,” SteerCo said.

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In making its ruling, the court confirmed that the transfer of funds from Byju’s Alpha, and their continued concealment, likely constitutes a fraudulent conveyance. Additionally, the court ordered the arrest of William Morton, the founder of Camshaft Capital Fund, LP, following his repeated refusal to appear in court and provide any of the requested information regarding the transfer of the $533 million in loan proceeds and the current status and location of the funds. Morton was also ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 per day until he complies with the court’s order.

SteerCo further added, “There should be no doubt that Byju is not the victim he purports to be, but rather the architect of a scheme that has vaporised tens of billions of dollars in value in what was once a great Indian company. We call on Byju to accept the will of Think & Learn’s shareholders and immediately step down as CEO and director to prevent further harm to the company’s employees, students and their families, and India’s credibility among the global investment community.”

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