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Sahara India Investors Refund Status: Only 138.07 crore including principal and interest has been returned to investors in Sahara India by SEBI so far.
Refund Status for Investors in Sahara India 2022: Crores of rupees of lakhs from investors in Sahara India’s schemes are stuck for years. However, until now, only 138.07 crore including principal and interest has been returned to investors in Saharan India by SEBI.
In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Finance Minister Pankaj Chaudhary said that Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL) had collected Rs 19400.87 crore from 232.85 lakh investors and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHICL ) collected Rs 6380.50 crores from 75.14 lakh investors.
Chaudhary further said that pursuant to the Supreme Court order of 31.08.2012 and subsequent injunctions, SIRECL and SHICL jointly deposited Rs 15,503.69 crores on December 31, 2021 into a designated “SEBI-Sahara Refund” account against the principal amount. of Rs. 25,781.37 crores collected from the investors.
SEBI received a total of 19,644 Applications related to 53,642 Original Certificates of Bonds/Pass Books for a total principal amount of Rs 81.70 crores. SEBI has made repayments in respect of 17,526 eligible bondholders in respect of 48,326 original bond certificates/pass books for a total amount of Rs 138.07 crores (i.e. Rs 70.09 crores as principal and Rs 67.98 crores as interest).”
“The remaining applications were closed because their records were not traceable in the documents/data provided by SIRECL and SHICL, or because no response was received from the bondholders to further inquiries from SEBI.”
According to Chaudhary’s statement in the Lok Sabha, based on instructions issued from time to time by the Supreme Court and the advice of Justice (Retd) BN Agarwal appointed by the Supreme Court, SEBI has made the repayments. SEBI has also submitted an interim request dated 21.10.2021 to request further guidance from the Supreme Court in the case.
When will investors get their money back?
In response to other questions about whether the Ministry is aware that the amount deposited by account holders in Sahara India will not be returned and when they will get their money back, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Finance Bhagwat Karad has asked the submitted the following statement:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued orders regarding two specific Sahara companies, namely Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHICL). In this context:
l. The Hon’ble Supreme Court vide Order of 31.08.2012 had, among other things, instructed SEBI to repay to subscribers the money invested in the Optional Fully Convertible Bonds (OFCDs) issued by the two companies SIRECL and/or SHICL after verification of their authenticity.
ii. Pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court dated 31.08.2012 and subsequent injunctions, SIRECL and SHICL deposited a total amount of Rs.15,503.69 crores into a designated ‘SEBI-Sahara Refund’ account (as at 31.12.2021).
iii. In terms of the instructions issued by the Supreme Court from time to time and the advice of Justice (Retd.) BN Agarwal appointed by the Supreme Court, SEBI issued a press release on 28.05.2013 and advertisements in newspapers in August-September 2014 and December 2014. SEBI also placed advertisements in newspapers on 26.03.2018 and 19.06.2018.
iv. SEBI received a total of 19,644 Applications related to 53,642 Original Certificates of Bonds/Pass Books for a principal aggregate amount of Rs. 81.70 crores. Based on verifiable documents and taking into account the cut-off date, SEBI has made repayments in respect of 17,526 eligible bondholders related to 48,326 original bond certificates/pass books for a total amount of Rs.138.07 crores (i.e. Rs. 70.09 crores as principal and Rs 67.98 crores as interest) by wire transfer via NEFT/RTGS (to their respective account numbers and IFSC codes provided).
v. SEBI has submitted a total of 22 status reports to the Supreme Court in this case, and has also submitted an interim request dated 21.10.2021 for further instructions from the Supreme Court.