A US bankruptcy court has entered a default judgement of more than US$1.07bn (billion) against Byju Raveendran, founder of the troubled edtech company Byju’s, after finding that he repeatedly and wilfully failed to comply with court-ordered discovery in proceedings concerning the group’s US subsidiary, Byju’s Alpha Inc. The ruling, dated 20 November 2025, was issued by judge Brendan Linehan Shannon of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, who held Mr Raveendran personally liable for the movement and concealment of funds, including the disputed US$533mn (million) transfer from Byju’s Alpha to a little-known Miami-based hedge fund, Camshaft Capital.
The judgement held that Mr Raveendran 'knowingly refused' to obey multiple discovery directives, describing his conduct as evasive and part of a strategic pattern of non-compliance. The court says his responses were 'incomplete', 'not even remotely satisfactory' and inconsistent with what would be expected of a good-faith disclosure.
It noted that monetary sanctions of US$10,000/day, imposed earlier for contempt of previous discovery orders, had remained unpaid and had proved ineffective because Mr Raveendran 'lives abroad and apparently has no intention of satisfying his financial penalties or complying with the discovery orders'.
Under the default judgement, the court awarded US$533mn on the claim that Mr Raveendran aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty relating to the transfer of funds from Byju’s Alpha, and a further US$540.6mn on claims of breach of fiduciary duty, conversion and civil conspiracy.
“The court will enter default judgement against defendant Raveendran… in the amount of $533,000,000, and on Counts II, V and VI in the amount of $540,647,109.29,” the order stated.
The judge acknowledged that the relief granted was 'extraordinary' but justified considering the record before the court.
The controversy centres on Byju’s Alpha, a Delaware-incorporated special-purpose vehicle (SPV) set up in 2021 to raise and manage the ed-tech group’s US$1.2bn term loan B. The entity did not conduct any operating business and functioned chiefly as a holding company for the loan proceeds. US-based lender GLAS Trust Company and the Byju’s Alpha estate have alleged that US$533mn from the loan was moved out of the US in violation of loan covenants, first routed to Camshaft Capital and then through affiliated entities, including Inspilearn and an offshore trust, without any consideration returning to Byju’s Alpha.
Both Byju’s Alpha and GLAS Trust had approached the Delaware Bankruptcy Court seeking discovery of the US$533mn and related transfers.
According to the judgement, Mr Raveendran had full knowledge of the discovery orders but consistently refused to comply. The court rejected his argument that the lenders already had access to documents through the books of Byju’s Alpha, observing that “there is nothing in the record to support the assertion” that GLAS Trust could obtain the relevant information without his cooperation.
The court directed Mr Raveendran to provide a complete accounting of the Alpha Funds, including the original transfer to Camshaft Capital, the limited-partnership interest created through the investment, each subsequent transfer and all remaining proceeds. Judge Shannon said this accounting was necessary because the funds had not been traced despite multiple earlier orders.
The default judgement does not mean that more than US$1bn must be paid immediately. Creditors will now need to initiate enforcement actions in jurisdictions where Mr Raveendran holds assets and seek recognition of the Delaware ruling from local courts. The judgement remains binding unless overturned on appeal or modified in future proceedings.
Responding
to queries from TechCrunch in a statement, J Michael McNutt, senior litigation advisor at Lazareff Le Bars, representing Mr Raveendran, says, "We consider that the US Court erred in its judgement of this matter and will be filing the necessary appeals and other contestations related to this judgement and related orders. The court, in our view, ignored relevant facts."
The counsel told TechCrunch that Byju’s founders are preparing claims against GLAS Trust and others in multiple jurisdictions, expected to seek at least US$2.5bn in damages and absent a settlement, to be filed before the end of 2025.
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