Under SEBI scanner, Rajesh Exports claims revenues 'correct', cites 'confusion and communication gap'

📌 Summary:

• SEBI's interim order (dated June 3, 2026) alleges gold jewellery firm Rajesh Exports Ltd (REL) misrepresented revenue of Rs 15.15 lakh crore over FY21-FY25, and barred the company and owner Rajesh Mehta from securities markets pending probe

• REL defended itself, calling its filed revenues "correct" and blaming a "confusion and communication gap" over the revenue of Swiss subsidiary Valcambi; shares fell 5% Thursday

• SEBI found 97-99% of REL's consolidated revenue came from overseas subsidiaries (notably Valcambi SA, Switzerland), yet Valcambi's standalone revenue was a "negligible fraction" of reported consolidated revenue

• Ahmedabad broker Affluence Shares & Stocks is also under scanner: REL reported ~Rs 11,487 cr sales and ~Rs 11,488 cr purchases with Affluence (66-67% of standalone totals), but GST records showed NO such purchases

• Affluence's actual aggregate revenue was only Rs 113.22 crore and its disclosed business was financial advisory/brokerage — inconsistent with Rs 11,400+ cr transactions

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2/GS3 — role of statutory regulator SEBI in market integrity, corporate governance, investor protection; use of interim orders

📝 Prelims Facts:

• SEBI is a statutory body under the SEBI Act, 1992; it can pass interim orders barring entities from securities markets
• Valcambi SA (Switzerland) and Global Gold Refineries (GGR) are Rajesh Exports group entities
• Alleged misrepresentation: Rs 15.15 lakh crore over FY21-FY25

🔑 Key Term: Interim order — a provisional, pre-investigation directive by a regulator (here SEBI) to prevent ongoing harm, such as barring an entity from the securities market until a final order.