Mutual funds avoid Rajesh Exports in last 10 years, LIC stake rose five times to 11%

3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jun 4, 2026 10:17 PM IST

Rajesh Exports is a gold and jewellery exporter promoted by Rajesh Mehta. (File Photo)

Rajesh Exports, under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) scanner for allegedly inflating revenues by Rs 15.15 lakh crore over FY21 to FY25, was listed more than three decades ago in 1995. But domestic institutional investors, barring one, kept away from its stock for at least the last 10 years, according to shareholding data obtained from the company’s website.

A look at the domestic institutional holding in the Rajesh Mehta-promoted Rajesh Exports, a gold and jewellery exporter, shows mutual funds’ maximum exposure in the company was at 0.5% in March 2016; it has only dipped since and is nil now.

While private sector insurance companies too have no holding in the firm, state-owned LIC has been the only big domestic institutional investor over these years. In fact, LIC’s stake in Rajesh Exports more than quintupled from 1.99% in March 2016 to 11.22% in March 2022. Since then it has marginally dropped to 10.8% as on March 31, 2026.

A questionnaire mailed to LIC did not elicit a response.

Foreign portfolio investors have held between 15.87% in March 2016 and 17.7% in March 2023. Over the last three years, their holding dropped to 14.2% in March 2026; much of this is held by just two FPIs, Bridge India Fund (8.46%) and Schwab Fundamental Emerging Market Equity ETF (2.7%).

When contacted, leading MFs and brokers said they were not comfortable investing in the company. “We were never confident of their numbers and so it never made the cut on that account,” said the CEO of a leading mutual fund, who did not wish to be named.

The CEO of a leading broking firm said, “The SEBI order did not come as a shocker. Huge turnover and thin margins never made sense. Few domestic institutional investors trusted the numbers.”

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Another gold exporter said Mehta maintained a low profile, but was ambitious. “In the early years, he would pitch Rajesh Exports as one that would overtake Titan, which was also into jewellery business,” the exporter said.

In its interim order on Wednesday, SEBI said Rajesh Exports overstated revenues and barred Mehta from buying, selling or dealing in the securities of Rajesh Exports pending further proceedings. It also ordered a fresh forensic audit of the company’s books.

Rajesh Exports, however, denied SEBI’s findings. In a press statement, it said, “The revenues stated by the company in its financials are correct. The core observation in the order is with regard to the mis-reporting of the revenues, this has emerged primarily due to confusion because SEBI has considered the EBIDTA of Valcambi instead of revenue hence it has stated that there is a difference of about 97% in the revenue.” Valcambi is a Swiss gold refiner acquired by Rajesh Exports in 2015 for $400 million.