BYJU’S faces ED scrutiny over alleged Rs 9,000 Cr FEMA violation
BYJU'S said it has not received any notice from the Enforcement Directorate.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly found violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) amounting to Rs 9,000 crore by troubled edtech company .
The edtech company has not received the notice yet, but the ED is expected to release a statement on this issue shortly, The Economic Times reported.
The Bengaluru-based company in a statement said, “BYJU’S unequivocally denies media reports that insinuate it has received any notice from the Enforcement Directorate. The company has not received any such communication from the Enforcement Department.”
The ED has been examining BYJU’S compliance with the FEMA since 2011. Concurrently, the edtech firm has come under scrutiny from both the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Directorate General of GST Intelligence.
In April, the ED conducted searches at three Bengaluru locations associated with BYJU’S, focusing on alleged violations of foreign exchange laws. The searches at Think & Learn Private Limited, the parent company of BYJU’S, resulted in the seizure of “various incriminating documents and digital data,” the ED had said then.
The edtech company reportedly secured almost Rs 28,000 crore in foreign direct investment from 2011 to 2023, the agency had said. Additionally, it was noted that the edtech firm transferred Rs 9,754 crore to different foreign jurisdictions in the form of overseas direct investments over the same period.
The development comes at a time when the company is fighting various challenges, including a liquidity crunch.
Most recently, Ranjan Pai–the Chairman of Manipal Education and Medical Group—bought Rs 1,400 crore debt in BYJU’S test preparation unit Aakash Educational Services Limited to help the troubled edtech firm pay off a loan taken from US-based lender Davidson Kempner Capital Management.
Earlier this month, BYJU'S released specific financial figures related to its core business as part of the audited financial results for the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22).
In FY22, its core business earned a total income of Rs 3,569 crore, up from Rs 1,552 crore recorded in the previous year. Its EBITDA loss decreased to Rs 2,253 crore from Rs 2,406 crore in the previous financial year, according to a company statement.
Edited by Kanishk Singh