On paper, Rajesh Exports Limited (REL) looks like one of India’s corporate giants. In the quarter ended March 2026 alone, the Bengaluru-based company reported revenue of Rs 2.36 lakh crore, a figure larger than the annual economic output of several countries.
The company owns Valcambi, the world’s largest gold refinery in Switzerland, sells jewellery through its SHUBH retail chain and claims to process around 35% of the world’s gold production.
Yet this sprawling gold empire is now facing one of the biggest regulatory challenges in its history after worth Rs 15.15 lakh crore attributable to subsidiaries between FY21 and FY25.
The allegations have put the spotlight on a company that, despite reporting revenues running into lakhs of crores every year, remains unfamiliar to many retail investors.
Founded by entrepreneur Rajesh Mehta, Rajesh Exports grew from a Bengaluru gold business into a global precious metals player with operations spanning India, Singapore and Switzerland. It became internationally known after acquiring Valcambi in a $400 million deal in 2015, a transaction that transformed it into one of the world’s largest gold refining groups.
. However, the regulator’s 109-page interim order has raised serious questions about the financial reporting of one of India’s biggest gold companies and triggered a sharp reaction in the stock market, with Rajesh Exports shares hitting the 5% lower circuit on Thursday.
Rajesh Exports traces its roots to Bengaluru and was incorporated on February 1, 1995. Over the past three decades, it has built a business that goes far beyond jewellery retailing.
According to the company, its operations span the entire gold value chain. It refines precious metals, manufactures jewellery, exports gold products to international markets and sells jewellery through its own retail network.
The company operates SHUBH Jewellers, a retail chain that at one stage had around 80 jewellery showrooms across India. While many investors associate gold companies primarily with jewellery stores, Rajesh Exports positioned itself differently by combining refining, manufacturing, wholesale distribution and retail operations under a single umbrella.
Its products include gold jewellery, diamond-studded jewellery, designer collections and investment products. Beyond India, the company exports to several markets and has said its business reaches customers across 12 countries.
The UAE and Kuwait have been among important export destinations, while its Swiss operations gave it access to European and American markets.
At the centre of Rajesh Exports’ rise is Rajesh Mehta, the company’s founder-promoter and executive chairman.
Mehta has led the company since its early years and remains its most influential figure. Over the years, he transformed what began as a domestic gold business into an international precious metals group.
His strategy differed from that of traditional jewellers. Rather than focusing only on retail sales, Rajesh Exports sought control over multiple parts of the gold ecosystem, including sourcing, refining, manufacturing and distribution.
That strategy eventually led to the acquisition that changed the company’s fortunes and dramatically expanded its global footprint.
In 2015, Rajesh Exports acquired Switzerland-based Valcambi for $400 million.
The acquisition immediately attracted attention because Valcambi is one of the most important names in the global precious metals industry and is widely regarded as the world’s largest gold refinery.
Located in Balerna, Switzerland, Valcambi operates one of the largest integrated precious metals refining facilities in the world.
For Rajesh Exports, the deal represented a major leap from being a large Indian gold company to becoming a global player in precious metals refining.
Valcambi’s operations serve clients around the world and process enormous quantities of precious metals every year. Ownership of the refinery gave Rajesh Exports access to international bullion markets and significantly increased the scale of its business.
Even today, Valcambi remains the crown jewel of the Rajesh Exports empire.
The company’s international operations are structured through a chain of subsidiaries.
Rajesh Exports India sits at the top of the structure. It fully owns REL Singapore Pte Ltd, which was created to facilitate international acquisitions and gold sourcing.
REL Singapore owns 95% of Global Gold Refineries AG in Switzerland, while Rajesh Exports India directly owns the remaining 5%.
Global Gold Refineries AG in turn controls Valcambi SA, the Swiss refining business.
The structure reflects how Rajesh Exports expanded from an Indian company into an international group with operations spanning multiple jurisdictions.
The existence of overseas subsidiaries is not unusual for multinational businesses. However, those entities have become important in the current investigation because they account for the overwhelming majority of the group’s reported revenues.
One reason Rajesh Exports has always stood out is the sheer size of its reported revenues.
SEBI’s order shows that the company reported consolidated revenue of approximately Rs 2.58 lakh crore in FY21.
That was followed by around Rs 2.43 lakh crore in FY22.
Revenue rose to roughly Rs 3.39 lakh crore in FY23.
FY24 revenue stood at around Rs 2.80 lakh crore.
In FY25, revenue increased to approximately Rs 4.23 lakh crore.
The most remarkable figure came in FY26, when consolidated revenue surged to nearly Rs 7.78 lakh crore.
To put that into perspective, the annual revenue reported by Rajesh Exports in FY26 exceeded the economic output of several countries.
These extraordinary figures helped place the company among India’s highest-revenue listed firms.
Yet there was another side to the story.
For years, Rajesh Exports puzzled analysts because its profits appeared disconnected from its enormous sales figures.
The explanation lies largely in the economics of gold refining.
Gold itself is an expensive commodity. Refiners purchase and process vast quantities of the metal, causing revenue figures to become extremely large because the value of the gold flows through the income statement.
However, the actual value added by the refiner is usually only a tiny fraction of the transaction value.
This means revenues can run into lakhs of crores while profits remain modest.
Rajesh Exports’ recent financial performance illustrates this clearly.
In the April-June quarter of FY26, the company reported revenue of Rs 1.31 lakh crore but recorded a net loss of Rs 9.53 crore.
In the July-September quarter, revenue rose to Rs 1.75 lakh crore while net profit stood at Rs 104.05 crore.
The October-December quarter saw revenue jump to Rs 2.35 lakh crore, yet net profit came in at only Rs 71.74 crore.
The final quarter of FY26 highlighted the issue most starkly. Rajesh Exports reported revenue of Rs 2.36 lakh crore but ended the quarter with a net loss of Rs 53.50 crore.
Operating margins remained close to zero throughout the year and slipped into negative territory in the March quarter.
The company also reported other income of more than Rs 240 crore during the quarter, helping offset weakness in core operations.
The contrast was striking. Revenues kept growing, but profitability remained fragile.
SEBI’s investigation began after a shareholder complaint received in March 2024.
The complaint raised concerns about possible financial misrepresentation and highlighted large trade receivables that had remained outstanding for extended periods.
Following the complaint, SEBI appointed an investigating authority and later engaged BDO India Services Pvt Ltd as a forensic auditor.
The regulator’s examination eventually expanded into a detailed review of the company’s financial statements, disclosures and subsidiary operations.
A significant portion of SEBI’s order focuses on the difficulties faced during the forensic audit.
According to the regulator, the company did not provide complete access to ERP systems, books of accounts and key accounting records sought by auditors.
SEBI also noted that information relating to overseas subsidiaries was not fully made available.
The forensic auditor reported that only a small percentage of sampled transactions could be fully verified through complete supporting documentation.
According to the order, complete documentation was available for only around 2% of a purchase sample worth more than Rs 7,000 crore. In the case of sales transactions worth over Rs 12,000 crore, only around 35% could be fully verified.
SEBI said these limitations significantly affected the audit process.
The regulator also raised concerns regarding disclosures, related-party transactions and accounting treatment of certain transactions.
The most serious allegation in the interim order relates to revenues attributable to subsidiaries.
According to SEBI, revenues worth Rs 15.15 lakh crore attributable to subsidiaries between FY21 and FY25 may have been inflated.
The regulator observed that between 97% and 99% of the company’s consolidated income came from subsidiaries and branches during the period under review.
SEBI also noted that detailed financial information and transaction-level data relating to certain overseas entities were not provided despite repeated requests.
The regulator has ordered a fresh forensic audit and directed further investigation into the matter.
It is important to note that these are prima facie findings and not final conclusions. Rajesh Exports will have an opportunity to respond as the investigation progresses.
The SEBI action did not emerge entirely in isolation.
The company had previously faced questions regarding certain disclosure and compliance-related matters.
Stock exchanges had sought clarifications on aspects of financial reporting, while delays were also reported in the filing of certain shareholding disclosures.
Viewed individually, such issues may appear routine. Viewed together, they added to the concerns that eventually drew regulatory attention.
Rajesh Exports has pushed back against the regulator’s observations. In a statement issued after SEBI’s interim order, the company said the order was only an interim measure and that “there has been no any adverse conclusion on any aspect arrived by SEBI.”
The company maintained that its reported revenues were accurate and said there was “no over stating of revenues.”
Rajesh Exports further said there appeared to be a “communication gap and confusion” between the company and the regulator and added that it was in the process of submitting all required documents and clarifications.
“The company is confident that SEBI in its wisdom will clarify the situation and arrive at the correct conclusion based on the authenticated documents which are in the process of submission by the company,” it said.
For now, Rajesh Exports remains a company of extraordinary scale.
It owns one of the world’s most important gold refining assets, operates across continents and reports revenues that most listed companies can only dream of.
At the same time, it is facing the most serious regulatory scrutiny in its history.
Investors reacted swiftly to the developments, with the stock hitting the 5% lower circuit after SEBI’s order became public.
The coming months will determine whether the regulator’s concerns lead to further action. But one thing is already clear: the questions now being asked by SEBI go to the heart of how investors understood one of India’s largest and most unusual gold businesses.