Byju Raveendran, the founder of embattled edtech giant Byju's, has been sentenced to six months in jail by a Singapore court for contempt after allegedly failing to comply with multiple court orders related to his assets, Bloomberg reported.Byju Raveendran is facing mounting legal and financial troubles across jurisdictions.According to people familiar with the matter, the Singapore court directed Raveendran to surrender to authorities, pay legal costs of S$90,000 (around $70,500), and provide documents proving his ownership of Beeaar Investco Pte, a corporate entity that held shares in a related company.The latest ruling adds to a growing list of legal troubles facing the once-celebrated entrepreneur, who is also battling lenders in the United States over a soured $1.2 billion loan. US courts had earlier held Raveendran in contempt and imposed daily sanctions over non-compliance with disclosure orders tied to the dispute.Raveendran, however, told HT that settlement discussions with lenders and investors were close to completion and accused parties of creating a “misleading impression” about him. In a statement issued after the ruling, he said a settlement had been “agreed in principle” with only a few issues left unresolved.“I am disappointed that the recent Singapore court matter has been pursued and reported in a manner that creates a misleading impression about me,” Raveendran said, adding that parties involved in the negotiations had acknowledged there was “no wrongdoing” on his or other founders’ part.He further claimed he had not actively contested several proceedings in recent months because stakeholders were working toward a comprehensive settlement. “I chose resolution over confrontation,” he said.From classroom coach to edtech billionaireRaveendran founded Think & Learn Pvt Ltd in 2011 along with his wife Divya Gokulnath after building a reputation as a popular mathematics coach for competitive exams. The company’s flagship learning app, branded as Byju’s, quickly became one of India’s biggest startup success stories.The company saw explosive growth during the Covid-19 pandemic as online learning surged globally. At its peak in 2022, Byju’s was valued at nearly $22 billion, making it the world’s most valuable edtech startup. Backed by global investors, the Bengaluru-based company went on an acquisition spree, buying firms including Aakash Educational Services, WhiteHat Jr, Great Learning and Epic.Raveendran himself became one of India’s best-known startup founders and billionaires as Byju’s attracted billions of dollars in foreign funding.Mounting debt, investor exits and legal battlesThe company’s rapid rise was followed by an equally dramatic collapse. Concerns over governance practices, delayed financial disclosures, mounting losses and aggressive expansion began surfacing in 2023. The company laid off thousands of employees amid a severe funding crunch and disputes with lenders.In April 2023, the Enforcement Directorate searched premises linked to Byju’s and Raveendran over alleged violations of foreign exchange laws. The agency said it had seized “incriminating documents and data” during the searches.The troubles deepened after Byju’s defaulted on repayments linked to a $1.2 billion term loan in the US. Lenders accused the company and its founders of concealing funds and failing to comply with court-ordered disclosures. In 2025, a US bankruptcy court imposed civil contempt sanctions on Raveendran for failing to obey court orders in the ongoing dispute.The company also faced shareholder revolts, board resignations and insolvency proceedings in India. Byju’s valuation collapsed sharply from its peak, with Raveendran himself later acknowledging that the company’s value had effectively fallen to zero.Singapore case linked to Qatar fund subsidiaryThe Singapore proceedings were initiated by a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority, which had invested in Byju’s during one of the company’s later funding rounds as it was already cutting jobs and restructuring operations.Qatar Holdings was represented by law firm Drew & Napier, while Byju’s Investments was represented by Fervent Chambers.