A suspended director of the embattled Indian ed-tech firm Byju’s has been ordered to pay $10,000 per day until he helps track down $533 million that the company is accused of concealing from US creditors, a judge ruled on Wednesday.


Riju Ravindran, the brother of Byju’s founder, is at the center of an ongoing legal battle over the missing funds. Lenders claim the money should be returned following the company's default. Ravindran, one of three directors of Think & Learn Pvt. — the entity behind the Byju’s brand — was recently replaced by a trustee in an involuntary bankruptcy case filed in India, according to US court records.


US Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon imposed these sanctions on Ravindran and also denied a request to delay the US debt dispute while Ravindran and Byju’s sought new legal representation. The American attorneys representing Ravindran and Byju’s units requested to withdraw from the case, citing an “irreparable breakdown” in their professional relationship.


Judge Shannon's decision mandates that Ravindran’s current lawyers continue their representation until at least the next hearing, scheduled for next month in the US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, where much of the dispute has been centered.


This development adds another chapter to the saga of a company once hailed as a leader in India's tech industry. Just 18 months after securing $1.2 billion from US lenders in 2022, Byju’s faced missed financial reporting deadlines, regulatory raids in India, and accusations of default from American creditors.


The company stands accused of fraudulently diverting $533 million from a US-based shell company responsible for repaying the debt. Byju’s contends that it is being unfairly targeted by aggressive lenders.


The controversy revolves around the missing funds, which belong to Byju’s Alpha Inc., a bankrupt shell company linked to Think & Learn and seized by lenders after the loan default.


The ongoing US bankruptcy case is filed under BYJU’s Alpha Inc., 24-10140, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Wilmington).