ED seizes cash, jewellery worth Rs 5 crore in money laundering case against coaching institute

LUCKNOW: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of Lucknow unit seized cash amounting to Rs 10 lakh and jewellery worth Rs 4.89 crore during searches at seven locations in Noida, Delhi, and Gurgaon in connection with the FIIT-JEE fraud case.
The searches were conducted on April 24 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The search operations targeted the residences of FIIT-JEE Director DK Goel, along with the CEO, COO, CFO, and the official premises of the coaching institute.
The ED’s action comes amid a probe launched on the basis of multiple FIRs registered across Noida, Lucknow, Delhi, Bhopal, and other cities.
The FIRs accuse FIIT-JEE's senior management of collecting substantial fees from thousands of students and parents under the promise of providing quality educational services, which were allegedly never delivered.
ED investigators found that around Rs 206 crore had been collected from students of ongoing batches, even as services fell short of what was promised.
According to ED officials, the seized digital devices and documents reveal serious financial irregularities.
The funds collected were allegedly siphoned off for personal and unauthorized use. Meanwhile, faculty salaries remained unpaid, and operations across 32 centres—including in Lucknow, Noida, Ghaziabad, Delhi, Bhopal, Indore, Gurugram, and Mumbai—were abruptly shut down. The sudden closures have affected nearly 15,000 students and their families.
ED said preliminary findings suggest a systematic scheme of financial fraud, criminal breach of trust, and educational malpractice carried out under the guise of coaching services.