Mumbai: Madhabi Puri Buch, Sebi chairperson said on Thursday that the Sahara matter remains pertinent for the capital markets regulator even following the passing of the group's founder, Subrata Roy.
Speaking to reporters at a Ficci event, Buch highlighted that for Sebi, the matter revolves around the actions of an organization and will persist irrespective of the individual's existence.
Subrata Roy, the founder of Sahara India Group, passed away on Tuesday due to cardiorespiratory arrest.
Sahara Group Firms Ordered to Refund Funds from OFCDs Amid Regulatory Violations By SEBI
In 2011, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) directed two Sahara Group companies, Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIREL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL), to reimburse the funds collected from around 3 crore investors via specific bonds termed Optionally Fully Convertible Bonds (OFCDs).
This order came after the regulator ruled that the funds were raised by the two firms in violation of its rules and regulations.
Following an extensive process involving appeals and counter-appeals, the Supreme Court validated Sebi's instructions on August 31, 2012, affirming the requirement for the two firms to reimburse the investors' collected funds with a 15% interest rate.
Sahara was eventually rasked to deposit an estimated Rs 24,000 crore with Sebi for subsequent reimbursement to investors, despite the group's consistent assertion that it had already directly refunded over 95 percent of investors.
(With Inputs from PTI)
