Enforcement Directorate seeks revised look out circular against Byju Raveendran: Report
The ED’s decision to seek a revised look out circular was reportedly made with investors’ interests in mind to ensure that BYJU'S CEO does not leave the country.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had reportedly approached the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) earlier this month to issue a fresh look out circular (LOC) against Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of , to ensure that he does not leave the country.
An LOC ‘on intimation’ was issued against Raveendran over one and a half years ago by the ED's Kochi office, but the investigation was subsequently transferred to the agency’s Bengaluru office, The Economic Times reported.
The LOC ‘on intimation’ involves immigration authorities notifying an investigative agency when an individual travels overseas, without preventing the person from departing the country.
Recently, the ED’s Bengaluru office decided that issuing an LOC against Raveendran was necessary to prevent his departure from the country, the report noted, adding that the decision to seek a revised LOC was made with investors’ interests in mind.
YourStory could not independently verify the report.
BYJU’S and several of its major investors have been in disagreement, with the latter calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to address ongoing concerns. The proposed resolutions for the EGM, which is expected to take place on February 23, include restructuring the board to reduce founder control and changing the company’s leadership.
Back in November, the ED issued show cause notices to Think & Learn Private Limited—the parent company of BYJU'S —and Raveendran for violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after its investigation.
The adjudicating authority under FEMA issued notices for “contraventions of the provisions of FEMA, 1999 amounting to Rs 9362.35 crore,” the ED had noted in a statement.
Last April, the ED conducted searches at three Bengaluru locations linked to BYJU’S, targeting suspected violations of foreign exchange laws.
Edited by Swetha Kannan
