The Qatar Investment Authority, via Qatar Holdings LLC, on Monday obtained an interim order from the Karnataka High Court restraining Byju Raveendran from disposing of assets mentioned in the case filed against his edtech firm Byju’s.
The case pertains to a claim, made by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund against Raveendran and Byju’s Investment Private Limited, amounting to $235 million awarded by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in the form of partial relief.
In an interim order, a bench of Justice R Nataraj directed Byjus not to alienate or in any way part with the immovable properties mentioned in the sovereign wealth fund’s petition.
Byju’s counsel had requested additional time to file objections in the case, stating that they had yet to receive a copy of the petition.
Earlier, in April this year, the sovereign wealth fund unsuccessfully moved the Karnataka High Court for an interim relief of restraint on the transfer of assets. A bench of Justice Ashok Kinagi declined to grant the relief stating that it could have been obtained from the arbitral tribunal in Singapore instead.
The petition calls for the partial arbitral relief against Raveendran and Byju’s Investments Private Limited to be enforced with the payment of the sum, alongside an annual compounding interest rate of 4 per cent starting from February 28 last year.
The Qatar fund has said that it lent $150 million to Byju’s Investments Private Limited in 2022, with the loan being guaranteed by Raveendran.
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The petition also calls for them to be restrained from selling, transferring, etc, any of their assets, alongside a full disclosure of their assets, along with the location, description, and value. It also seeks attachment of the properties and the appointment of a receiver to dispose of them and thus satisfy the arbitral award, along with a restraint on the disposal of properties in the interim.
The case will be heard further on Wednesday.
