Embattled Edtech major Byju’s said the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) notice to the company was limited to technical issues such as late filing of annual reports and did not concern no financial wrongdoing such as foreign exchange violations.
This comes after ED confirmed issuing a show cause notice to e-tech company Think and Learn Private Limited and Byju Raveendran in the FEMA violation case. ED had also added that the complaint was filed by the ED regarding violations of the provisions of FEMA, 1999 to the tune of ₹9,362.35 crore.
The edtech major said the queries received in the notice are technical in nature, such as delay in filing Annual Performance Reports (APR) regarding duly compliant ODI investments of nearly ₹8,000 crore which arise from the delay in the legal audit (financial year 22).
“Based on previous actions by the adjudicating authority, we anticipate that fines, if any, will be minimal. To cite an example, the late submission charges for such filing delays which may be imposed as per RBI regulations in respect of APRs are very minimal (Rs 7,500)…,” the company added in a statement.
The embattled edtech major confirmed receiving the ED notice days after vehemently denying possession.
Fall in valuation, other problems
On November 29, Prosus, the Dutch arm of South African technology investor Naspers, reduced the value of its stake in Byju’s, bringing the company’s value to less than $3 billion.
This comes at a time when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has dragged the ailing edtech to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The case concerns the dispute over sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team’s jerseys.
Meanwhile, Byju’s is facing fresh trouble as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confirmed the issuance of a show cause notice to edtech company Think and Learn Private Limited and Byju Raveendran in the FEMA violation case.
The Bangalore-based company laid off thousands of employees and shifted the date of full and final payment from September to November.
Earlier this month, Manipal Group Chairman Ranjan Pai bought out US hedge fund David Kempner’s debt investment in a ₹1,400-crore deal.
It also submitted a proposal to its lenders to fully repay its $1.2 billion Term Loan B over the next six months. Byju’s intends to achieve this by making an initial payment of $300 million in the next three months.
