Shares of Rajesh Exports hit the lower circuit of 5 per cent in early trade on Thursday after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued an interim order alleging large-scale financial misrepresentation and diversion of funds by the jewellery exporter and its promoter.


Rajesh Exports fell 4.99 per cent to Rs 103.92 on the NSE after the market regulator barred the company and its chairman Rajesh Mehta from accessing the securities market until the completion of its investigation.

In its order dated June 4, SEBI alleged that the company overstated its scale of operations over several years through overseas subsidiaries, with alleged revenue misrepresentation amounting to nearly $158.3 billion or Rs 15.15 lakh crore.

The regulator noted that between 97 per cent and 99 per cent of Rajesh Exports' consolidated revenue was attributed to foreign subsidiaries, particularly Switzerland-based Valcambi SA.

However, the company allegedly failed to publicly disclose the financial statements of these subsidiaries, while Valcambi's standalone audited accounts reflected negligible revenues.

According to SEBI, Rajesh Exports misrepresented around Rs 15.15 lakh crore in subsidiary revenues during FY21-FY25, accounting for nearly 99.8 per cent of the company's reported revenue over the period.

Sebi has also alleged misrepresentation of standalone revenues amounting to Rs 12,557 crore during FY21-FY24. The regulator further alleged that REL falsely recorded derivative transactions executed by Rajesh Mehta in his personal capacity as company sales of Rs 11,487 crore and purchases of Rs  11,488 crore, classified exchange fluctuations of Rs 867 crore and Rs 716 crore as revenue and purchases respectively, and booked crore of interest income from mutual funds and fixed deposits as revenue from operations.

Meanwhile, shareholding data shows Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's largest domestic institutional investor, held a 10.80 per cent stake in Rajesh Exports as of the March 2026 quarter. The insurer has maintained the same holding since at least September 2023, without any change in its position, the data revealed.