Rajesh Exports shares fall 5% after SEBI order; LIC has nearly 11% stake, as does retail

Shares of Rajesh Exports Ltd. are down in a lower circuit of 5% on Thursday, June 4, in response to the SEBI order that barred its promoter Rajesh Mehta from accessing the securities market over allegations of financial misappropriation.

What Are The SEBI Allegations Against Rajesh Mehta?

According to the SEBI order, the regulator found prima facie that Rajesh Mehta, the promoter, Executive Chairman and Audit Committee member had substantial operational & financial control over the company and its subsidiaries.

The company is also accused of refusing access to systems and books of account and did not provide journal dumps, subsidiary level records, and only partially co-operated with the forensic auditors, among many other allegations.

All the allegations made by SEBI in its order are highlighted in this story by CNBC-TV18’s Yash Jain.

What Did Rajesh Exports Say In Its Clarification?

In response to the SEBI interim order, Rajesh Exports issued a five-point clarification to the exchanges. Here is what it stated:

• The order is interim and there has been no adverse conclusion on any aspect arrived by SEBI
• The revenues declared by the company are correct and there is no overstating of revenues.
• There seems to be some type of communication gap and confusion between SEBI and the company
• The company is in the process of clarifying all aspects to SEBI by submitting all the required and relevant documents.
• 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.

Who Owns Stake In Rajesh Exports?

Based on the March quarter shareholding pattern, promoters of the company had a 54% stake, while the rest belonged to public shareholders.

Among public shareholders, Life Insurance Corporation of India has a 10.8% stake in the company at the end of the March quarter.

Bridge India Fund held a 8.46% stake, while Schwab Fundamental Emerging Markets Equity ETF had a 2.7% stake as well.

Retail investors too hold a substantial stake in the company. As many as 1.94 lakh small retail shareholders, or those with authorized share capital of up to ₹2 lakh, had a 14.13% stake in Rajesh Exports at the end of the March quarter.

How Have Rajesh Exports’ Shares Fared?

Shares of Rajesh Exports are in a 5% lower circuit on Thursday at ₹103.92. The stock is down 42% so far this year.

Rajesh Exports shares have delivered negative returns for five years in a row now.

The stock declined 0.8% in 2022, followed by a 50% fall in 2023, 37% fall in 2024, 20% drop in 2025 and the fall so far this year.

From its all-time high of ₹1,029 that the stock had surged to in February 2023, it is down 90% from those levels.