The government is reportedly considering looking into the legality of transferring the unclaimed funds of the Sahara-Sebi Refund Account to the Consolidated Fund of India. It is expected to include a provision for investors who later make their claims, according to a report by The Economic Times. The decision of the government comes after Sahara Group founder Subrata Roy passed away last week. According to the report, there have been very few claimants in nearly a decade since the establishment of the refund account.
The report quoted an unnamed official as saying that an option to transform the amount to the Consolidated Fund of India with a separate account to refund investors would be explored.
As of March 31, the total amount recovered from the group and deposited in the state-run banks was Rs 25,163 crore, after Rs 138 crore was paid to 17,526 applications involving 48,326 accounts, The Economic Times report said.
Earlier this year, after a Supreme Court ruling in March, Rs 5,000 crore was transferred to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies for disbursement against legitimate dues of genuine depositors of the Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies. A dedicated portal for the refunds was created.
Subrata Roy was a big and famous name in India. Sahara was once a sponsor of Indian cricket team. Roy was also the co-owner of the former Force India Formula One team.
The Sahara entities had raised the money through optionally fully convertible debentures. Sebi had said this was done without its permission and asked Sahara to refund depositors, The Economic Times report said.
