SEBI orders attachment of bank accounts of Sahara chief Subrata Roy, 3 others

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 2 (ANI): The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued notice to attach bank and demat accounts of the two group firms of the Sahara Group for violating regulatory norms in the issuance of optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs).

The February 1 notice by the regulatory body has ordered the attachment of bank accounts and demat accounts of Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy and three others- Ashok Roy Choudhary, Ravi Shanker Dubey and Vandana Bharrgava. The SEBI recovery notice has been issued in pursuance of a penalty of Rs 6.48 crore levied by the market regulator in an order dated June 27, 2022.

The recovery notice was issued allegedly in contravention of the provisions of the SEBI’s ICDR (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations and PFUTP Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices). A recovery certificate of January 12, 2023, has been drawn up by the Recovery Officer for the recovery of a sum of Rs 6,48,01,000 towards the penalty imposed in the June 27, 2022 order in the matter of issue of OFCDS by Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd and Sahara Housing Investment Ltd, along with interest, all costs, charges and expenses in respect of all proceedings for recovering the sum.

SEBI has also directed all banks to attach all bank accounts, including lockers, demat accounts and all mutual fund folios accounts of the four persons.
All banks, depositories and mutual funds have been directed to restrict all debit transactions from the accounts of these four persons. However, credit transactions, if any, are to be permitted, the market regulator said.

In December 2022, SEBI had ordered the attachment of bank and demat accounts of the Sahara Group firm and its chief Subrata Roy to recover Rs 6.42 crore in the case pertaining to the flouting of regulatory norms.

The recovery notice was given against Sahara India Real Estate Corporation, Sahara Roy, Ashok Roy Choudhary, Ravi Shanker Dubey and Vandana Bharrgava.
In its order in June 2022, the SEBI had levied a penalty totalling Rs 6 crore on Sahara India Real Estate Corp, Subrata Roy, Ashok Roy Choudhary, Dubey and Bharrgava.