People stroll previous an promoting hoarding of Byju’s, an training expertise firm. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
The Adjudicating Authority underneath the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has issued show cause notices to Think & Learn Private Limited, which runs training portal Byju’s, and Byju Raveendran, based mostly on the Enforcement Directorate’s grievance alleging contraventions involving ₹9,362.35 crore, mentioned the company on Tuesday.
The assertion got here hours after, by way of its X deal with, Byju’s denied media stories insinuating any FEMA violation on its half. “The company has not received any such communication from authorities,” it mentioned.
The ED had initiated the FEMA inquiry based mostly on allegations concerning the overseas funding obtained, important overseas remittances, and abroad investments made by the corporate in “violation” of the Act, purportedly inflicting losses to the exchequer.
In April, based mostly on the knowledge, the company carried out searches at places in Bangalore related to Think and Learn Private Limited and the residence of Mr. Raveendran and gathered related paperwork. It additionally recorded his assertion and of the corporate’s chief monetary officer, it mentioned.
According to the ED, it discovered that the corporate and Mr. Raveendran had allegedly contravened the provisions of FEMA by failing to submit paperwork of imports towards advance remittances made outdoors India; by failing to understand the proceeds of exports made overseas; by the delayed submitting of paperwork towards the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) obtained into the corporate; by failing to file paperwork towards the remittances made by the corporate outdoors India; and by failing to allot shares towards FDI obtained.
Earlier, by way of an announcement, the ED had alleged that the corporate obtained FDI of about ₹28,000 crore from 2011 to 2023, and remitted about ₹9,754 to numerous overseas jurisdictions throughout the identical interval “in the name of overseas direct investment”.
“The company has booked around ₹944 crore in the name of advertisement and marketing expenses, including the amount remitted to foreign jurisdiction. The company has not prepared its financial statements since the financial year 2020-21 and has not had the accounts, audited, which is mandatory. Hence, the genuineness of the figures provided by the company are being cross-examined from the banks,” the company had alleged.
