Winning Bizness Desk

Mumbai. Capital market regulator Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has clarified that in spite of Subrata Roy's passing, the probe in the Sahara case will be continued. Its chairperson Madhuri Puri Buch said that the Sahara matter focuses on the entity's actions and the case shall continue regardless of an individual's physical presence. Notably, Sahara India Group chief Subrata Roy passed away on Tuesday in a Mumbai hospital after suffering a long illness. He was 75 years old and was suffering from many ailments for a long time. After a long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Sahara chief was jailed along with two directors of his company on a Supreme Court order for allegedly defrauding investors. He was sent to Tihar Jail on 4 March 2014. Roy was released from prison on parole. Subrata Roy has been asked to return Rs 24,000 crore to investors with interest. He owns several real estate properties in India and abroad. Subrata Roy was accused of not returning the money given by his investors. Due to this, SEBI took action against him and the refund of 20 million dollars became a problem for him. After this, a series of troubles began for the Roy family. Roy had to go to jail and his business also suffered.

Sahara matter was about an entity's conduct

SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch told the media, 'the Sahara matter was about an entity's conduct and added that it will continue regardless of whether an individual is there or not'. He was further questioned about the adequacy of refunds; in his response to the query, Buch noted that the refunds were issued by a Supreme Court-appointed committee and were being allocated following evidence-based assessments of investors' claims. Reportedly, Sahara Group was asked to deposit over Rs 24,000 crore with SEBI for further refund to investors however, only Rs 138 crore have been made to investors until now.

The group faced numerous allegations

The Sahara group has faced numerous allegations, including accusations of operating a Ponzi scheme. Roy's troubles with SEBI began in 2010 when the regulator prohibited two Sahara entities from raising funds through equity markets or issuing securities to the public. Additionally, Roy was restrained from soliciting funds from the public. The two Sahara entities, Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECA) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation raised funds in 2007-08 through Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCD). SEBI, in June 2011, directed these entities to refund the money collected from the investors along with interest.