• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology & Startups

A once-hot startup got a $1.5 billion loan. More than $500 million went to a high school dropout’s ‘sham’ hedge fund, judge rules.

March 5, 2025
in Technology & Startups
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
0
6
SHARES
14
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Byju's
Byju’s was once one of India’s most-hyped startups.SOPA Images / Contributor, LightRocket collection / Getty Images
  • Byju’s was once India’s hottest startup, with a lineup of top global debt and equity investors.

  • A judge ruled that Byju’s-related entities had fraudulently transferred over $500 million to a “sham” hedge fund.

  • The money is still missing.

Call it the case of the vanishing half a billion dollars.

During the pandemic-era startup funding boom, the education technology company Byju’s raised money from some of the biggest names in global investing. At its peak, the Bengaluru-based company was valued at $22 billion, making it the most valuable startup in India. But last week, a US judge ruled that entities associated with Byju’s had fraudulently transferred over $500 million to a group the judge deemed a “sham.”

The summary judgment in Delaware bankruptcy court, released on Thursday, advances the lenders’ yearslong search for the missing money. Judge John T. Dorsey ruled against Riju Ravindran — a former Byju’s board member and the founder’s brother — and entities related to the company, including a hedge fund founded by a 23-year-old high school dropout.

Dorsey found the $533 million was fraudulently transferred to what he called a “high-risk and unproven hedge fund.” It had few other investors, a high fee structure, and, at one point, a Miami IHOP headquarters address with a non-working phone, per court documents. The ruling opens the door for damages — with a hearing about specifics still to be scheduled — and for the lenders to try to recover some of that money.

In November 2021, after equity fundraising from BlackRock, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, and other power players, Byju’s set up a special financing vehicle with $1.2 billion from top private lenders, including Ares Management and HPS Investment Partners. Led by the media-hungry founder Byju Raveendran, Byju’s expanded quickly by snapping up other companies.

Months after the lenders’ money came in and without their knowledge, Ravindran transferred $533 million to a tiny hedge fund called Camshaft Capital, per Thursday’s summary judgement. The fund was run by a portfolio manager named William Morton, who the lenders said in a complaint had no investment experience. The lenders’ complaint said last year that Morton had recently bought three luxury cars: a 2023 Ferrari Roma, a 2020 Lamborghini Huracán EVO, and a 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith.

Ravindran’s attorneys told the Delaware bankruptcy court that he moved the money to Camshaft because “Byju’s felt the need to protect the cash.” Ravindran said in sworn testimony that he had never heard of Camshaft before April 2022 and that he did no diligence prior to the transfers.

Dorsey wrote in the summary judgment that Camshaft should have spotted “numerous red flags” pointing to the transactions’ “fraudulent purpose.”

Camshaft then lent the money to a British company in a deal done without the lenders’ approval, wrote Dorsey. The lenders have yet to trace the money, despite extensive efforts detailed in court documents.

Last week’s lawsuit is just one part of Byju’s winding saga, which stretches across continents and involves more than a dozen lawsuits. While the level of funding Byju’s commanded during its heyday sets it apart from the ed-tech competition, the company is part of a wave of global startups that picked up significant funding during the pandemic. At the time, investors scrambled to back companies amid record low interest rates. Now, lower valuations in a much different market threaten those good-times investments.

After negotiations with Byju’s fell apart over missed interest payments and other issues, the lenders put the special financing vehicle through involuntary bankruptcy. They appointed Timothy Pohl, a restructuring veteran, to manage the company and unravel the key mystery: the money’s trail. But even after Pohl took over as the sole manager in March 2023, Ravindran continued to move money out, Dorsey wrote in Thursday’s summary judgement.

In May 2023, Raveendran told an advisor to the lenders that the money had gone “someplace the Lenders will never find it,” the advisor later wrote in a declaration.

So far, legal proceedings have offered few clues about the missing $533 million. Morton and his fund were held in contempt of court last year for failure to cooperate with discovery. He told The Wall Street Journal last spring that he had fled the US with no plans to return — and that Camshaft is not a sham.

Raveendran and Ravindran are last known to be living in Dubai. Ravindran was also held in contempt of court last year.

The lenders said in a statement on Friday that they see the ruling as a “significant step forward” in their recovery efforts.

“We are gratified the Court unequivocally recognized that Riju Ravindran, Camshaft, and BYJU’s together conducted a deliberate fraud on a global scale arising from the theft of $533 million,” the lenders said in the statement.

Byju’s is still operating, but the company faces significant turmoil beyond the US bankruptcy case. BlackRock and at least one other equity investor have written off the value of their investments. BlackRock and the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative did not respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment, nor did Byju’s.

Lawyers for Morton and Ravindran did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Morton or Raveendran. Ravindran could not be located for comment.

Raveendran wrote on LinkedIn on Friday and again on Monday that he would rebuild the company.

“I will keep on keeping on. Till the wrongs are righted, and the mistakes are corrected,” he posted on Monday.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at mmorris@businessinsider.com or Signal or Telegram at +1 646 768 1627. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Tags: BlackrockByju RaveendranCamshaftDelaware bankruptcy courtHedge fundprivate lendersRavindranRiju RavindranStartup FundingWilliam Morton
Previous Post

‘We are Canadian’: Beer ad guy returns amid patriotic wave – National

Next Post

White House confirms talks with Hamas continuing amid ceasefire uncertainty

Related Posts

US court extends deadline for improved bids in Citgo parent’s auction

May 30, 2025
4

Cheniere Energy begins maintenance work on Sabine Pass LNG plant, company confirms

May 30, 2025
2
Next Post
White House confirms talks with Hamas continuing amid ceasefire uncertainty

White House confirms talks with Hamas continuing amid ceasefire uncertainty

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
skin cancer

Who should be screened for skin cancer?

May 30, 2025
Local high school and college students have protested the xAI facility.

NAACP calls for emergency shutdown of Musk’s supercomputer in Memphis

May 30, 2025
The Straits Times logo

Seoul Lonely: How a city fights isolation with ramyeon, one bowl at a time

May 30, 2025
UN says famine stalks all in Gaza; Israel shoots, wounds aid seekers

UN says famine stalks all in Gaza; Israel shoots, wounds aid seekers

May 30, 2025

Recent News

skin cancer

Who should be screened for skin cancer?

May 30, 2025
4
Local high school and college students have protested the xAI facility.

NAACP calls for emergency shutdown of Musk’s supercomputer in Memphis

May 30, 2025
3
The Straits Times logo

Seoul Lonely: How a city fights isolation with ramyeon, one bowl at a time

May 30, 2025
6
UN says famine stalks all in Gaza; Israel shoots, wounds aid seekers

UN says famine stalks all in Gaza; Israel shoots, wounds aid seekers

May 30, 2025
3

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Cybersecurity
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

skin cancer

Who should be screened for skin cancer?

May 30, 2025
Local high school and college students have protested the xAI facility.

NAACP calls for emergency shutdown of Musk’s supercomputer in Memphis

May 30, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co