ED Lookout for Raveendran: The Enforcement Directorate has issued a second lookout notice against Byju Raveendran, the founder of embattled edtech BYJU'S on Thursday, February 22 in connection with an ongoing FEMA probe on the company, according to PTI.

The ED has sought the Bureau of Immigration to issue the look out notice to stop Raveendran from leaving India, ANI reported.

The development comes ahead of the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) called against the company's founders by investors PeakXV, General Atlantic, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, MIH EdTech Investments, Own Ventures, SCI Investments, SCHF PV Mauritius, Sands Capital Global Innovation Fund, Sofina, and T. Rowe Price Associates.

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday, February 21 had relieved the company from consequences of the EGM, saying that the resolutions to be passed in the February 23 EGM cannot be implemented until the final hearing and disposition of the petition. 

The first notice was for immigration authorities to keep track of, and inform ED of Raveendran's whereabouts through various ports. The notice was renewed amid investor's concerns, and a FEMA contravention case against Raveendran.

The company did not respond to Republic Business' queries on the development.

Notably, Raveendran is stated to be in Dubai currently, PTI reported.

The reason for the Look Out Circular (LOC) was on multiple grounds of “failing” to submit documents of imports against advance remittances made outside India, and failing to realise the proceeds of exports made outside India by a delayed filing of documents against the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) received into the company, among others.

Raveendran in 2022 had taken a Term Loan B worth $1.2 billion from US-based investors. The company offered to raise money through the sale of its American units EPIC and Great Learning, which would recover about $800 million out of the deal. BYJU's bought EPIC for $500 million.

In February, Byju's American unit Alpha filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the US court of Delaware.

A Foreign Exchange Violation or FEMA probe was slapped on BYJU's in November last year, the show cause notice being more than Rs 9,300 crore against the embattled edtech and Raveendran.

Raveendran was looking to raise $200 million in a rights issue floated by the company at a valuation slash of 99 per cent, which had been fully subscribed according to him.

The reasons 

(With agency inputs)