New Delhi, Jun 5 (PTI) The Congress on Friday questioned the role of probe agencies in the alleged scam involving Rajesh Exports and asked why they were “sleeping” when they work 24 hours to target political opponents.

The Congress alleged that the Rs 15.15 lakh crore 'scam' involving Rajesh Exports, as pointed out in SEBI's interim report, was BJP's “crony capitalist model” which now stands exposed.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters, senior leader Pawan Khera posed a set of questions to the government, seeking to know what the probe agencies did to prevent the “scam”.

Shocking findings have emerged from SEBI's interim order against Rajesh Exports that point to one of the “largest financial misrepresentation scandals” in India's corporate history, Khera said.

Capital markets regulator SEBI on Wednesday barred Rajesh Exports Ltd's promoter and CEO Rajesh Mehta from dealing in the company's securities, alleging large-scale misrepresentation of financial statements and diversion of funds.

In its 109-page interim order, SEBI said its investigation has revealed misrepresentation in financial statements as well as instances of routing and layering of funds through personal accounts and related entities without adequate disclosures or supporting documentation.

Khera said the SEBI report mentions approximately Rs 15.15 lakh crore in 'misrepresented consolidated revenues' for Rajesh Exports between FY21 and FY25, raising grave concerns about the integrity of financial disclosures made to investors, regulators and the Indian public.

“If these findings are sustained, this is not merely a corporate governance failure; it is a damning indictment of the Modi government’s regulatory architecture, which has repeatedly prioritised the interests of a few favoured corporates over the protection of ordinary investors,” Khera alleged.

He also cautioned that institutions meant to protect citizens and investors are being “hollowed out”, accountability mechanisms are being “weakened”, and “crony capitalism” is replacing transparent market governance.

The Rajesh Exports episode appears to be yet another example of the dangerous consequences of this model, Khera alleged, adding that the BJP has made India’s long-standing integrity in economic matters a “laughing stock” for the world.

In a jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Khera said his promise to put Rs 15 lakh into every Indian's bank account never came true, but a scam worth Rs 15 lakh crore came from one of his "crony friends".

He also alleged that when Madhabi Puri Buch was the chairperson of SEBI, she sat on the complaint against Rajesh Exports for seven months before SEBI took action later.

Khera also claimed that the company's market capitalisation in February was to the tune of Rs 28,000 crore, which has fallen to Rs 3,000 crore now, causing a loss of Rs 25,000 crore to the common public.

The LIC's holding in the company also rose from 1.99 per cent to around 12 per cent, as it kept investing public money in the absence of SEBI action, he said.

Khera also claimed that SEBI did not investigate the company's investment of USD 400 million in a gold refinery purchased in Switzerland.

The Congress leader asked how a listed company could report revenues running into 15.5 lakh crore annually for years if the underlying transactions and records were allegedly not available for verification.

“What role did the Financial Intelligence Unit, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, ED and the CBI, including primarily SEBI, play in monitoring overseas subsidiaries that generated almost the entire reported revenue base of the group? “Why were warning signs relating to receivables, subsidiary disclosures and transaction verification not detected earlier despite years of public filings? “Rajesh Exports has collapsed from nearly Rs 900 to around Rs 100, wiping out small investors, while most major institutional investors had already exited long before SEBI's findings became public,” Khera said.

He also asked whether powerful players saw the warning signs and escaped early while ordinary investors were left to suffer the consequences of alleged fraud and regulatory failure.

“Were any concerns, complaints, whistleblower inputs or regulatory red flags about Rajesh Exports brought to the attention of the Modi government before SEBI initiated its investigation? Why did the government keep mum? “Will the prime minister, the home minister, the finance minister or the commerce minister take responsibility for such a massive scam?” Khera asked.

He said the Indian public deserves to know whether this was merely a case of corporate misreporting or whether deeper failures of regulatory oversight allowed such alleged discrepancies to go on for years.

“Investors, shareholders, pensioners and ordinary citizens deserve regulators that are independent, vigilant and fearless - not institutions weakened by political interference and proximity to powerful crony corporate interests. The country deserves answers,” Khera said. PTI SKC ASK ARI

Regulatory oversight and crony capitalism dominate Congress criticism over alleged Rajesh Exports misrepresentation and delayed enforcement. Congress questioned the role of probe agencies and the government's regulatory oversight in relation to allegations surrounding Rajesh Exports, relying on SEBI's interim order and saying the case reflects a wider problem of crony capitalism and weak enforcement. SEBI's interim findings were described as indicating large-scale misrepresentation of financial statements, routing and layering of funds through personal accounts and related entities, and inadequate disclosures or supporting documentation.