India, June 14 -- - two brothers from Gujarat who turned a modest family jewellery business into what they claimed was the world's largest gold processing empire. Their 2015 acquisition of Swiss refinery Valcambi SA for $400 million was the crowning moment. India, it seemed, had a gold king. Today, that crown lies in the dust. On June 2, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India issued an interim order that has stunned India's financial establishment. SEBI alleged that Rajesh Exports Limited (REL) misrepresented revenues to the tune of Rs15.15 lakh crore - roughly $159 billion - over just five financial years, accounting for 99.8% of the company's consolidated subsidiary revenues. This is one of the most extraordinary figures ever cited in Indian securities regulation. The company's shares fell 5% in a single morning and have lost more than 40% in value this year.
REL has denied wrongdoing. Chairman Rajesh Mehta called the allegations untrue. The company attributed the discrepancy to SEBI allegedly considering Valcambi's EBITDA instead of revenue. But SEBI has held firm, barring Mehta from trading in REL securities and ordering a fresh forensic audit. The damage to investor confidence, shareholder wealth, and India's corporate governance reputation has already begun. How the Alleged Misrepresentation Occurred At the heart of SEBI's case is a single, devastating number mismatch. Between FY2020 and FY2024, REL and its Swiss holding company Global Gold Refineries AG (GGR) reported consolidated revenues exceeding Rs15 lakh crore. Valcambi SA - the flagship Swiss gold refinery that was, according to REL, the primary revenue engine of the entire group - independently reported total revenue of just Rs3,027 crore over the same period. That is less than 0.5% of the figure reported above it in the corporate chain.
SEBI described this discrepancy as 'egregious and unheard of' - an unusually blunt choice of words for a securities regulator known for careful, measured language. The regulator further found that between 97-99% of REL's consolidated revenues flowed through overseas subsidiaries, with the Swiss chain at the centre. The corporate structure itself created an environment where verification was maximally difficult. Valcambi SA is owned by European Gold Refineries, which is owned by Global Gold Refineries AG, which is 95% owned by REL Singapore PTE Ltd. and 5% by REL India. This layered cross-border web meant that any discrepancy between what Valcambi actually earned and what was reported up the chain was extremely hard for external parties - auditors, analysts, regulators - to independently trace.
The probe was formally triggered in March 2024 when a shareholder complaint alleged potential misrepresentation of financial information, specifically pointing to trade receivables that had remained outstanding for more than two years - a significant red flag. SEBI appointed an investigating authority later that year and commissioned BDO India Services Pvt. Ltd. as the forensic auditor.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.