Byju’s Founder Gets 6-Months Jail Term in Singapore Contempt of Court Case

Byju Raveendran was sentenced to imprisonment after the court said he had failed to comply with several orders regarding his assets dating back to April 2024.

He was ordered to surrender himself to the authorities, pay costs of S$90,000 ($70,500) and produce documents proving that he was the legal owner of the entity called Beeaar Investco Pte, which held shares of a relevant company.

The threat of prison time is the latest blow to a founder facing demands from foreign investors around the world, including in the United States, where lenders are fighting to claw back losses on a $1.2 billion loan that has matured.

Raveendran did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is unclear whether it is in Singapore or elsewhere.

Raveendran’s founding of education technology company Think & Learn Pvt (better known as Byju’s) turned him into a billionaire and made him one of the biggest success stories among the wave of Indian startups attracting capital from global firms.

He is currently being pursued in the Singapore court system by a subsidiary of the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, which was involved in a financing round for the tech firm that was cutting jobs and laying off staff.

Qatar Holdings was represented in the case by Drew & Napier. Byju’s Investments was represented by Fervent Chambers.