FIITJEE shut 32 centres, ED probes Rs 85.79 crore laundering; over 14,000 students hit

The ED has chargesheeted FIITJEE and directors Dinesh and Monila Goel in Ghaziabad. The case spotlights alleged fee diversion and sudden centre closures affecting thousands of students.

In Short

• Four police FIRs from Noida and Bhopal underpin the laundering investigation
• Advance fees ranged between Rs 2.8 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh
• Closures left 14,411 enrolled students without their promised competitive exam coaching

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed a chargesheet against FIITJEE and its directors, Dinesh Kumar Goel and Monila Goel, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged misappropriation of more than Rs 85 crore collected from students, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

The ED's Lucknow zonal office filed the prosecution complaint before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The agency has sought the conviction of the company and the husband-wife duo under the PMLA.

In a statement, the ED said it had also sought the confiscation of properties worth Rs 71.88 crore that were seized or provisionally attached during the investigation. PTI has sought a response from FIITJEE Ltd, and the report will be updated once it is received.

The agency provisionally attached assets worth Rs 66.92 crore in the case on October 9. It also seized Rs 10 lakh in cash and jewellery worth Rs 4.86 crore during searches conducted in April 2025.

FEES RETAINED AND MISAPPROPRIATED

According to the ED, Rs 85.79 crore in fees was retained and misappropriated. The agency has categorised this amount as proceeds of crime.

The money laundering case is based on four police first information reports, with two each registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police in Noida and the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal. The FIRs alleged that the coaching institute collected advance fees ranging from Rs 2.8 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh per student for coaching programmes lasting two to four years.

The programmes were meant to prepare students for competitive examinations such as the Joint Entrance Examination for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology. Students were allegedly assured that the full programmes would be delivered.

However, the faculty left because of unpaid salaries and the centres closed abruptly without prior notice, the ED said. It alleged that the management diverted the fees and continued to collect money from new students through false assurances even after the faculty had left.

The ED's investigation found that FIITJEE abruptly closed 32 centres between May 2024 and February 2025, leaving 14,411 enrolled students without the coaching they had paid for, PTI reported.

The agency said the company continued to admit students, including for programmes scheduled to run until March 2029, despite knowing that it could not deliver them. It claimed that the collected fees were spent while the company operated at a continuous deficit.

The ED further claimed that Dinesh Kumar Goel and Monila Goel drew Rs 24.92 crore in salaries from 2022-23 onwards.

"As the Goel family holds 86.31 per cent of the shares, the directors approved their own salaries without independent checks. They paid themselves first, even as other employees' salaries were delayed/unpaid," the ED said.

According to the agency, Dinesh Kumar Goel drew a salary of about Rs 56 lakh a month, while Monila Goel drew more than Rs 25 lakh a month. It said Monila Goel admitted that she did not attend office regularly and only signed cheques from home. The ED alleged that payments to her continued even as the coaching centres were closing.

Noida Police had earlier filed a chargesheet against the couple based on statements from 300 victims, coaching centre operators and other witnesses, along with fee receipts, according to the ED.

FIITJEE was launched in 1992 and has its head office in Delhi. The ED's chargesheet names the company and its directors in connection with the alleged misappropriation of Rs 85.79 crore in student fees and seeks their conviction and the confiscation of assets worth Rs 71.88 crore.

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