New Delhi, 26 April

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday alleged that FIIT JEE coaching institute collected more than Rs 200 crore as fee from thousands of students and their parents but "did not" deliver the educational service indicating "serious" financial irregularities and siphoning of funds.

The federal probe agency said in a statement that it seized Rs 10 lakh in cash, jewellery worth Rs 4.89 crore after it conducted searches on 24 April as part of a money laundering investigation and covered premises including that of FIIT JEE Director DK Goel, other executives of the company and their offices.

The raids covered seven premises in Noida, Delhi and Gurugram.

FIIT JEE or its promoters could not be contacted for a comment on the charges made by the ED against them.

The ED case, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from multiple police FIRs got registered by the parents of students and IIT aspirants in Noida, Lucknow, Delhi, Bhopal and some other cities.

These FIRs alleged that the senior management of FIIT JEE collected "substantial" fee from students and parents under the pretext of providing quality educational services but instead engaged in "large-scale" financial fraud, criminal breach of trust, and educational malpractice by failing to deliver the promised educational services.

The ED probe found that FIIT JEE collected about Rs 250.2 crore from a total of 14,411 students for four academic sessions between 2025-26 to 2028-29.

"Substantial amounts were collected from students of currently running batches by FIIT-JEE under the pretext of providing educational services, which were ultimately not delivered," it said.

The funds were allegedly diverted for personal and unauthorised use, while faculty salaries remained unpaid, the ED said.

As a result, 32 coaching centres located in Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Noida, Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Faridabad and Gurugram apart from those in Mumbai and Delhi etc. were abruptly shut down, causing widespread distress to around 15,000 students and parents, it said.

The agency said it seized "incriminating" documents and digital devices during the searches that indicate "serious" financial irregularities and a preliminary analysis of these material suggests a "systematic" scheme to "siphon off" funds.