Edtech giant Byju’s is currently not facing any investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), sources in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) told CNBC-TV18 on July 10, adding that the matter is still being probed by the ministry.
The decision on whether SFIO would investigate the case will be taken after the ministry concludes its investigation into Byju’s alleged governance lapses and compliance failures.
The development comes days after a The Hindu Business Line report on July 8 claimed the SFIO, a multidisciplinary body under the MCA, has commenced an investigation into Byju’s case, citing sources. The business daily, however, had clarified that BYJU’S said it has not received any communication from the SFIO on the launch of such a probe.
Last month, sources in the ministry had told CNBC-TV18 that it has ordered an inspection of the edtech for corporate governance lapses, however, Byju’s had denied getting information about any such inspection.
"Media reports suggesting that MCA has ordered an inspection into BYJU’S are speculative, and denied by us. We have not received any such correspondence from MCA regarding this, and are not aware of any such inspection," a Byju’s spokesperson said on June 23.
Meanwhile, on July 4, Byju’s said its promoters have re-invested the entire amount raised by them through the secondary sale of shares in the company. According to private market intelligence firm PrivateCircle Research, promoters — Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath and Riju Ravindran — have together sold shares worth around $408.53 million in 40 secondary transactions since 2015.
PrivateCircle said Raveendran holds 15.90 percent, whereas Divya Gokulnath and Riju Raveendran have 3.32 percent and 1.99 percent, respectively.
Also, Bloomberg has reported that the Indian edtech startup and some of its lenders have restarted negotiations to restructure its $1.2 billion term loan. The lenders have delivered a detailed amendment proposal to the company calling for a debt pay down, coupon boost and investor protections on the loan, the report said.
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