Byju’s founder told Business Ally to flee US to avoid testifying – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Byju Raveendran, the founder of Indian technology company Byju’s, reportedly tried to convince a Nebraska businessman to leave the U.S. to avoid testifying in federal court today about suspicious activities he witnessed while working with The controversial executive had observed court documents filed earlier this week.

Raveendran sent the businessman a plane ticket to Dubai just two days before a court hearing at which new allegations were to be made against Raveendran. William R. Hailer was scheduled to testify about how Raveendran attempted to use loan proceeds he allegedly hid from U.S. lenders to secretly buy back a software company that had been taken over by an American trustee.

According to a court declaration filed by Hailer, Raveendran has been trying to regain control of his floundering education technology empire, which is under court supervision both in India, where the parent company is based, and in the United States, where some of its valuable units are located.

Earlier this year, Bankruptcy Judge John T. Dorsey, the federal judge who oversaw today’s hearing, found another of Byju’s business associates in contempt of court for fleeing the United States shortly before his testimony.

Raveendran allegedly recruited Hailer, a former political consultant, to try to buy out U.S. creditors who owed more than $1.2 billion under a loan, according to the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Raveendran could then exchange this debt for ownership of Epic! Swap, an educational software company. The plan ultimately failed.

“Over the past few months, I have been used as a pawn in Byju’s manipulation of the law,” Hailer wrote in his statement filed earlier this week. Hailer will testify in federal court today on behalf of a trustee looking to sell Epic! to raise money for Byju’s creditors, including US lenders.

A representative for Byju’s and a lawyer for Raveendran did not respond to requests for comment.

Raveendran has denied wrongdoing in previous responses to allegations from lenders, saying his actions were a justified response to overly aggressive tactics by creditors who specialize in squeezing money out of distressed companies.

Lenders have been fighting Byju in both federal and state courts for more than a year. Lenders allege Raveendran hid $533 million in loan proceeds that should have been repaid to creditors. Byju’s is also facing bankruptcy proceedings in India, where a court-appointed professional has been hired to raise money to repay lenders.

The case is epic! Creations, Inc., 24-11161, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).