New Delhi: Jewellery worth Rs 4.89 crore and Rs 10 lakh cash have been seized by the ED from the premises of the director of FIIT-JEE chain of coaching centres amid hints of an alleged systematic scheme to siphon off funds, thereby defrauding students and their parents, an official said on Saturday.
The search operations, carried out by the Enforcement Directorate at the premises of Director D.K. Goel, CEO, COO, and CFO, as well as at official premises of the institute, during the week have shown that fees collected from students was allegedly diverted for personal and unauthorised use, while faculty salaries remained unpaid.
The search action revealed that substantial amounts, approximately Rs 206 crore, were collected from students of currently running batches by FIIT-JEE under the pretext of providing educational services, which were ultimately not delivered, said the official.
During the searches, several incriminating documents and digital devices were seized, indicating serious financial irregularities, the ED said, adding that Rs 10 lakh and Jewellery worth Rs 4.89 crore were seized.
After collecting fees from students, the funds were diverted for personal and unauthorised use, resulting in 32 coaching centres at Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Noida, Prayagraj, Delhi, Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Faridabad, Gurugram and Mumbai, among others, shutting down abruptly, said the ED.
The sudden closure of the coaching centres caused distress to 14,411 students and their parents, the ED said.
The agency said preliminary analysis of the evidence collected during the search action suggested a systematic scheme to siphon off funds, thereby defrauding students and their parents under the guise of educational services.
The ED, Lucknow Zonal Office, conducted searches on Thursday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at seven locations in Noida, Delhi and Gurgaon on Thursday in the FIIT-JEE fraud case.
The ED initiated the investigation against FIIT-JEE and its senior management on the basis of multiple FIRs registered across Noida, Lucknow, Delhi, Bhopal, and other locations.
The FIRs alleged that the senior management of FIIT-JEE collected substantial fees 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 raids were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and reportedly included properties belonging to the promoters of FIIT-JEE.
FIIT-JEE is a coaching chain with 73 centres across India. The issue began when centres in places like Ghaziabad, Noida Sector 62, and Greater Noida were abruptly closed, just before crucial exams.
This unexpected move left hundreds of students stranded, and their families furious.
After the outcry, multiple FIRs were registered, and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police started its investigation in February.
Notices were sent to the account holders and centre owners, but no replies came. Later, the police discovered around 300 bank accounts suspected to be linked to the scam.
These accounts were frozen, and Rs 60 lakh was seized as part of the investigation, according to reports.
In March, the EOW filed a formal case against FIIT-JEE for alleged fraud. The charges included cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and common intention under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
At one centre in Laxmi Nagar, east Delhi alone, as many as 192 complaints were received from aggrieved parents.
In response to the allegations, FIITJEE claimed that the decision to close the centres was not taken by the company itself.
In a public statement, the coaching chain said that the managing partners and their teams had deserted the centres without informing the main office.
(IANS)
