$1.7-Billion Bond Order Invalid: Sridhar Vembu's Lawyer Clarifies On Divorce Case In US Court

The $1.7-billion bond order issued by a US court in response to an application moved by Sridhar Vembu's divorced wife is "invalid", said Christopher C Melcher, the lawyer of Zoho Corp. founder.

Melcher's clarification came hours after a report shed light on the California court order, which was issued back in January 2025.

"The $1.7 billion bond order is invalid, cannot be complied with, and is on appeal. The receivership order has been stayed on appeal. So, this old news about an order that should never have been made," Vembu's counsel said in a post on social media platform X.

"There is no legal authority for such an order. A subsequent judge acknowledged that the amount seemed absurd," he added.

The case pertains to an ex-parte application filed by Pramila Srinivasan in November 2024, requesting the judge to halt a transaction that would have transferred a revenue-generating "community asset" to a third party.

Notably, community assets are those which a spouse acquires during the period of marriage. Such assets are to be divided in cases of divorce.

In this case, the asset under review is the business of US-based Zoho Corp., an arm of the India-headquartered Zoho Corp. Pvt. Ltd. The transaction, which Vembu's ex-wife sought to block, would've resulted in its transfer to an entity owned by his associate Tony Thomas, the report said.

The California court had, acting on Pramila's plea, ordered a stay on the transaction.

“The record in this case demonstrates that Petitioner (Sridhar) has acted without regard for Respondent’s (Pramila’s) interests in community assets and without regard for the law, and that Zoho Corporation, T&V Holdings, Inc., Tony Thomas, ZCPL and related entities will act at Petitioner’s direction to further Petitioner’s interest and prejudice Respondent’s interests,” reports quoted the order, passed by the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda as stating.

According to Vembu's lawyer, the judge in California was "completely misled" by the ex-wife’s attorney.

Vembu offered his ex-wife 50% of his shares in ZCPL, "but to this day she has refused to accept the stock", he said. Instead, she has claimed that Vembu is trying to cheat her in the divorce, the lawyer noted, adding, "This makes no sense as she could take her half of the shares now and Sridhar has already transferred his interest in the family home to her."

Vembu, her lawyer said, was able to borrow up to $150 million against his shares which was the extent of his ability to comply but the ex-wife "would not accept the money".

Notably, Vembu had filed for divorce in 2021, two years after returning to India from the US.