In the internal memo, Raveendran said the company sent money overseas to fund its international acquisitions.
Byju’s was once valued at $22 billion and attracted global investors including General Atlantic, BlackRock and Sequoia Capital.
After financial crime agency ED searched Byju premises, education platform CEO Byju Raveendran wrote to employees saying the company brought more FDI to India than any other startup and that the company was in full compliance with all applicable foreign exchange laws.
India’s most valuable startup, Byju’s was once valued at $22 billion and has attracted global investors including General Atlantic, BlackRock and Sequoia Capital.
“As we are funded by over 70 impact investors who have performed satisfactory due diligence on our operations, including all Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) compliances, we are confident that the authorities will also succeed in the same conclusion,” Raveendran said in the memo sent late Saturday, which was seen by PTI.
ED had searched three premises on Saturday in Bangalore linked to the company over alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Act. Searches on ‘Think & Learn Private Limited’ (Byju’s online learning platform) yielded ‘various incriminating documents and digital data seized’, ED had said.
The company had received foreign direct investment of nearly 28,000 crore rupees between 2011 and 2023, the agency said, adding that the company had paid 9,754 crore rupees to various foreign jurisdictions during the same period. in the name of foreign direct investment.
In the internal memo, Raveendran said the company sent money overseas to fund its international acquisitions.
“ED’s recent visit is an investigation conducted by FEMA. The information requested and provided to officers regarding FDI raised, overseas investments made, and cross-border transactions related to Byju’s marketing and branding activities have already been submitted by our authorized representatives,” he wrote.
Byju’s, he said, has made a number of overseas acquisitions, investing Rs 9,000 crore over the years as part of its growth strategy. “These acquisitions have been instrumental in expanding our reach and impact. In order to fund these acquisitions, we transferred some of our funding overseas.” Consequently, we have been able to create employment opportunities for over 55,000 talented professionals,” he said.
“This makes us the biggest employer among startups in India.” He went on to state that Byju’s has made every effort to fully comply with all applicable foreign exchange laws. “All of our cross-border transactions have been duly approved by its professional advisers/advisors and advisers/advisors of investment funds and other sophisticated counterparties,” he said.
“Furthermore, all these transactions are only channeled through the usual banking channels / RBI licensed concession banks and the required documentation and statutory documents have been duly submitted.” He said Byju’s was cooperating fully with the authorities.
“As we are funded by more than 70 impact investors who have performed satisfactory due diligence on our operations, including all FEMA compliances, we are confident that the authorities will also come to the same conclusion,” he said. he declared. “Let’s continue to focus on our goals and work together to achieve our mission.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
