The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in its order issued on Wednesday, accused jewelry manufacturer Rajesh Exports of inflating its revenue scale by Rs 15.15 lakh crore over a period of years, mostly through unreliable foreign firms.
The company and its owner are prohibited from participating in the securities markets until the SEBI has finished its inquiry, as per media reports.
According to markets regulator, the foreign subsidiaries, especially Switzerland-based Valcambi SA, accounted for 97 per cent to 99 per cent of Rajesh Exports’ total revenue. However, the company frequently withheld the financial information of its subsidiaries from the public.
Although Valcambi SA was supposed to be the primary operational company, its audited financial accounts revealed very small standalone revenues.
SEBI highlighted that Rajesh Exports reported Rs 114.87 billion in sales and Rs 114.88 billion in acquisitions with Affluence Shares and Stocks Private Limited in accordance with the order but Affluence denied any such transactions.
As per regulator, these were fake entries connected to owner Rajesh Mehta’s personal derivative trades, which were used to increase turnover in the absence of actual economic activity.
It noted that Rajesh Exports transferred Rs 3.39 billion in the company funds — including for derivative trades — to Mehta’s personal accounts without the consent of the board or audit committee and without making the required related-party disclosures.
Jairam Ramesh, General Secretary in-charge Communications, Indian National Congress, said SEBI has, in an interim report dated June 3, 2026, alleged a gigantic scam involving a high-flying company called Rajesh Exports which is in the gold refining and jewellery business.
SEBI says that there has been a massive misrepresentation of revenues spanning a five-year period 2020/21-2024/25 that could amount to a staggering Rs 15 lakh crore. Investigations are continuing and a final report is awaited, he said.
“What is particularly disturbing is that LIC owns around 10.8% of Rajesh Exports. Banks too have considerable exposure to this clearly politically influential company. How could LIC have missed such a huge fraud taking place in a company in which it has a substantial stake? This raises the question of whether LIC’s acquisition of such a substantial stake was driven by instructions from the ruling ecosystem,” Ramesh.
Furthermore, Rs 9.26 billion in total were transferred without authorization or transparency. Also, the misrepresentation and financial diversion caused the company’s shareholders, particularly small shareholders, to lose Rs 127.26 billion.
Meanwhile, Rajesh Exports has refuted the findings of a regulatory decision issued against it, while market regulator SEBI prohibited its promoter and MD Rajesh Mehta from dealing in the company’s securities until further notice.
“It is an interim order and nothing in it is true. We are in the process of studying it and will prepare a response,” said Mehta.
