Congressman Karti Chidambaram has written to the government’s reputable fraud investigation agency, asking for an investigation into the finances of edtech unicorn Byju. The request comes amid the company’s expansion plans and alleged layoffs.
In a letter to the Director of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), seen by happiness indiaChidambaram has raised concerns in three Byju-related cases, including two rounds of funding and delays in filing financial statements for fiscal year 2020-21, citing media reports.
SFIO is a statutory corporate fraud investigative agency under the Department of Corporate Affairs.
First and foremost, Chidambaram speaks about missing paperwork related to ₹2,500 crore the company allegedly raised from Sumeru Ventures and BlackRock in a fundraiser announced in March this year.
“A report noted that Byju’s filings with the Union’s Department for Corporate Affairs indicated that Vitruvian Partners was allotted 16,301 Series F Preferred Shares for £571 million on 29 March 2022. In the case of Sumeru Ventures or BlackRock, there has been no such filing since the company announced on March 17th. This raises the question of the missing £2,500 crore in the company’s funding. One of the investors, Sumeru Ventures, which was founded in 2018, made three sizeable investments, all between February and April 2022, including one in Byju’s, after being inactive for three years,” writes Chidambaram.
“In October 2021, Oxshott Capital Partners is said to have made a ₹1,200 crore investment in Byju’s. Nine months later, Byju’s has confirmed that it has not yet received this funding from the investor. To date, Oxshott Capital Partners has only made one investment – in Byju’s,” the congressman continues.
Byju’s had raised $800 million in March 2022, valued at an estimated $22 billion, in a funding round led by Viturvian Partners, Sumeru Ventures and BlackRock, becoming the country’s most valuable unicorn. Byju Raveendran, the founder and CEO of the company of the same name, had invested $400 million in his personal capacity during the round.
