India's Rajesh Exports Faces Probe Over Massive Accounting Irregularities

Indian authorities have uncovered a web of accounting and operational irregularities at Rajesh Exports, one of the country's largest gold exporters. The findings come weeks after market regulators raised questions about the company's reported revenues.

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Key indicators of the company's activity showed significant deviations from normal business practices.

Investigators discovered significant deviations from normal business practices. While Rajesh Exports reported consolidated revenues exceeding $81 billion last year, its CEO was reportedly paid only $180 per month, and the CFO had not received a salary since 2020. Searches at the company's offices revealed a lack of documentation for external transactions, accounting discrepancies of 30 billion rupees, and suspected stock manipulation.

Further compounding the issues, investigators found that the company under-reported its physical gold stock by approximately 40%. Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, in a separate investigation, concluded that 97% to 99% of the company's revenues appeared to be artificially inflated. The regulator described these differences as "egregious and unheard of."

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egregious and unheard of

In response to the allegations, Rajesh Exports stated that it has "never been involved in any misreporting, and all its filings, financial figures, including revenues, are true and authentic." The company's stock fell about 5% on Thursday, hitting the lower trading limit. Rajesh Exports is a major gold refiner and producer, exporting jewelry and gold products from Switzerland, India, and Dubai.

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never been involved in any misreporting, and all its filings, financial figures, including revenues, are true and authentic.