US Court Issues $1.16 Billion Default Judgment Against Byju Raveendran
A US court has ordered Byju Raveendran to pay back the default amount of USD 1.16 billion to BYJU’s Alpha and US-based lender GLAS Trust Company LLC. According to a judgment dated November 20, 2025, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court found that Raveendran failed to comply with its discovery order and continued to be evasive on several occasions. The judgment was given based on the petition filed by BYJU’s Alpha and GLAS Trust Company LLC.
“The court will enter default judgment against Defendant Raveendran…For USD 533,000,000, and on Counts II, V, and VI in the amount of USD 540,647,109.29,” the judgment said. BYJU’s Alpha was incorporated when Raveendran was managing the edtech firm Think and Learn Private Limited (TLPL), which operated under the BYJU’s brand name.
The judgment directed Raveendran to provide a full and accurate accounting of the Alpha Funds and any proceeds thereof, including the Camshaft LP Interest, as well as each subsequent transfer and any proceeds thereof. Raveendran, in a disclosure to counter allegations of siphoning of TLB funds through overseas entities OCI and Camshaft, had said that it routinely engaged with the UK-based OCI for its international expansion and business purposes, including marketing expenses and, purchase of equipment.
BYJU’S Alpha had bought a small interest in Camshaft, which provided credit to OCI for carrying out routine business, as discussions with other investors and lenders were taking time to pursue Byju’s expansion plan. When contacted, Raveendran’s legal advisor said that the court judgment and related orders will be appealed promptly by Byju Raveendran. Lazareff Le Bars Eurl, Senior Litigation Advisor, J Michael McNutt said that Raveendran will present evidence of such misrepresentation in the previously announced claim of not less than USD 2.5 billion, which will be submitted shortly before the US Courts.
The judgment follows a dispute between Byju’s and US-based lenders on the Term Loan B fund. TLPL had secured around USD 1.16 billion Term Loan B from the lenders. They had later alleged that BYJU’s Alpha had violated the terms of the loan and USD 533 million out of the total debt had been moved out of the US illegitimately. The Glas Trust moved to the Delaware court and received a favourable order to take control of BYJU’s Alpha. Both BYJU’s Alpha and Glas Trust moved the Delaware Bankruptcy Court for the discovery of USD 533 million and related transactions. According to the latest judgement dated November 20, the court found that Raveendran had knowledge of the discovery order but had simply refused to comply.
The court had also issued contempt orders in the matter, but noted that Raveendran continues to refuse to respond to the discovery requests or pay the sanctions he owes. “The facts and circumstances of this case indicate that Raveendran’s continuing failure to adequately respond to the pending discovery requests is a personal decision by Raveendran, himself,” the judgment noted.
The court rejected Raveendran’s argument that the GLAS Trust has access to documents through the books of BYJU’S Alpha on the information they are looking for. It noted that there is nothing in the record to support the assertion that GLAS has access to relevant documents. “The court has also found that Raveendran’s behaviour has been a strategic pattern of willful failure to comply with discovery,” the judgment said.
The court has already determined that Raveendran is in contempt of the previous discovery orders and has imposed sanctions of USD 10,000 per day until he purges his contempt. “The monetary sanctions, however, remain unpaid and have been ineffective. Raveendran lives abroad and apparently has no intention of satisfying his financial penalties or complying with the discovery orders. Accordingly, the monetary sanctions have not provided an effective remedy, making a harsher sanction such as a default judgment appropriate in this instance,” the judgment said.
Raveendran’s counsel, McNutt, said that the judgment is a default judgment, meaning that the court issued this judgment without Byju being permitted to present a defense and instead deprived Byju of the presentation of a defense by relying on its prior order of contempt. “We consider that the US Court erred in its judgment of this matter and will be filing the necessary appeals and other contestations related to this judgment and related Orders. The Court, in our view ignored relevant facts. Byju Raveendran must be allowed to present a defense and has been denied the right to do so by expediting the trial,” McNutt said.
The litigation advisor alleged that the Delaware Court Judgment also does not address the fact that GLAS Trust has been aware that the monies from the Alpha loans were not used by Byju Raveendran or any Founder of BYJU’s for their personal gain ,but were used for the benefit of Think & Learn Private Limited (TLPL). “GLAS Trust controls Think & Learn Private Limited, and the Resolution Professional of TLPL should be confronted and held responsible to explain the use of these funds. Applications are pending before the Courts in India to require such disclosure and accountability by GLAS Trust and the Resolution Professional of TLPL,” McNutt said.
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