Sahara: ‘Need Rs 5,000 crore from Sahara-Sebi fund for dues’

NEW DELHI:The government on Friday moved the Supreme Court, requesting allocation of Rs 5,000 crore from the Rs 24,000 crore Sahara-Sebi fund to repay more than 1. 1 crore investors, who had put their life savings in four multi-state cooperative societies run by Sahara Group.
In 2012, the SC had ordered Sahara Housing and Sahara Real Estate to deposit Rs 25,781 crore they had collected through red herring prospectus of March 2008 and October 2009 from over three crore investors. The two Sahara companies have so far deposited Rs 15,569 crore, which had ear-ned interest of Rs 9,410 crore, taking the total amount in Sahara-Sebi account to Rs 24,979 crore. After refunds, an amount of Rs 23,937 crore is still lying in the account.
The ministry of cooperation, under which the Central Registrar of Cooperatives functions, through additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, informed the court that the fourmulti-state cooperatives — Sahara Credit Cooperative Society, Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society — together collected Rs 86,673 crore from nine crore investors and invested Rs 62,643 crore of it in Aamby Valley.

“Despite specific orders passed by the Delhi HC, the bo-ard of Sahara Group Cooperative Societies extended complete non-cooperation and started thwarting the process of refund and resolution of claims of innocent investors,” it said.
“It is a matter of record that Rs 2,253 crore had been taken out from Sahara Credit Cooperative Society and deposited with Sebi on account of the dispute of Sahara Real Estate… A lien over the said amount is liable to be recognised in the name of depositors of Sahara Group multi-state cooperative societies,” the ministry said. It said Sahara entities“were working in unison to consolidate amounts received by them from depositorsand to launder and park them in one asset”.