Incriminating material seized by ED after searches at Byjus

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday carried out searches at the three premises of Edtech major BYJU's CEO Raveendran Bjyu and seized 'incriminating' documents and digital data as part of a foreign exchange violation probe.

A total of three premises, two business and one residential, were raided recently under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), it said in a statement.

Photo Credit: BYJU's CEO Raveendran Bjyu

The agency said it has seized various incriminating documents and digital data.

It said the action was taken on the basis of 'various complaints' received by private people and alleged that Raveendran Bjyu was issued 'several' summons but he remained 'evasive and never appeared' before the ED.

The searches found that his company, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., received foreign direct investment (FDI) to the tune of about Rs 28,000 crore during 2011-2023.

''The company also remitted about Rs 9,754 crore to various foreign jurisdictions during the same period in the name of overseas direct investment,'' the agency said.

BYJU's responded minutes after the probe agency's revelation, claiming the searches were related to a 'routine inquiry' under FEMA, a report in Business Today said.

''The recent visit by officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Bangalore was related to a routine inquiry under FEMA. We will continue to work closely with the authorities to ensure that they have all the information they need, and we are confident that this matter will be resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner,'' the company spokesperson was quoted as saying by Business Today

(with PTI inputs)