The Enforcement Directorate has requested the Bureau of Immigration to issue a look-out-circular (LOC) against Byju Raveendran, CEO of the ed-tech company Byju’s, to prevent him from departing the country without notifying the investigating officer.
In November of the previous year, the agency issued show cause notices to Think & Learn Private Limited, the parent company of Byju’s, and Raveendran based on a complaint alleging violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) totaling Rs 9,362.35 crore.
An official confirmed that a new request has been submitted to the Immigration Department, resulting in the issuance of an LOC against him.
The Central agency stated that it commenced an investigation based on multiple complaints regarding foreign investments received by Think and Learn Private Ltd and the business practices of the company.
An ED spokesperson mentioned that the company was reported to have conducted substantial foreign remittances outside India and made investments abroad, purportedly violating the provisions of FEMA, 1999, and resulting in revenue loss for the Central government.
“Utilizing the provided information, the ED carried out searches at the locations of Think and Learn Private Limited and Raveendran’s residence on April 27 and 28. It confiscated documents related to all investments received by the company, along with records concerning its overseas investments,” stated the spokesperson.
Throughout the investigation, the ED documented statements from both Raveendran and the Chief Financial Officer of Think and Learn.
“At the conclusion of the investigation, it was determined that M/s Think & Learn Private Limited and Raveendran had violated FEMA provisions. These violations included the failure to submit documents of imports against advance remittances made outside India, the failure to realize the proceeds of exports made outside India, delayed filing of documents related to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) received by the company, failure to file documents for remittances made outside India by the company, and failure to allot shares against FDI received by the company,” stated the spokesperson.
In April, following the searches, the ED announced the recovery of “various incriminating documents and digital data.”
