ED files charge sheet against FIITJEE, two directors over fee fraud

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against coaching institute FIITJEE Limited and its directors, Dinesh Kumar Goel and Monila Goel, alleging that they laundered ₹85.79 crore collected as advance fees from students for coaching programmes that were not delivered.

The central agency’s Lucknow zonal office filed the prosecution complaint before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ghaziabad, seeking the conviction of the company and the two directors, along with the confiscation of assets worth ₹71.88 crore seized or attached during the investigation, ED said in a statement.

ED’s money laundering case stems from four police FIRs -- two each filed by Uttar Pradesh Police in Noida and Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal -- alleging that the coaching institute collected fees of ₹2.8 lakh to ₹3.5 lakh per student in advance for two-to-four-year coaching programmes for competitive examinations such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for the IITs on the assurance that the full programme would be delivered.

However, according to the ED, the faculty left due to “unpaid” salaries and the centres closed “abruptly” without prior notice.

ED alleged that its probe found that FIITJEE abruptly closed 32 centres in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh between May 2024 and February 2025, leaving 14,411 enrolled students without the coaching they had paid for. Despite the closures and faculty departures over unpaid salaries, the company continued enrolling students for programmes running until March 2029, it said.

The collected fees were spent while the company operated at a continuous deficit, the agency claimed.

HT tried to reach out to the company on a number listed on its website but the number does not exist.

Directors drew ₹24.92 crore in salaries

ED alleged that Dinesh and Monila Goel drew a combined ₹24.92 crore in salaries from the financial year 2022-23 onwards, even as salaries of employees were delayed or remained unpaid.

Dinesh drew about ₹56 lakh a month, while Monila received more than ₹25 lakh a month, the agency said, adding that the Goel family held 86.31% of the company’s shares, allowing the directors to approve their own remuneration without independent checks.

According to ED, Monila told investigators that she did not attend the office regularly and signed cheques from home. Payments to her continued even as the coaching centres were closing.

Noida Police had earlier filed a charge sheet naming both directors as accused, based on statements from around 300 victims, coaching centre operators and other witnesses, along with fee receipts and other evidence, the ED said.

The agency searched seven premises on April 24, 2025, seizing ₹10 lakh in cash and jewellery worth ₹4.86 crore. It subsequently provisionally attached properties worth ₹66.92 crore on October 9, 2026, under the PMLA.