Sahara Group depositors, CRCS-Sahara refund portal: The Centre has disbursed nearly Rs 370 crore to more than 4.29 lakh depositors of Sahara Group of Cooperative Societies through CRCS-Sahara refund portal.
Following the Supreme Court’s order, the CRCS-Sahara refund portal was launched on July 18, 2023, to facilitate repayment of money to Sahara depositors who invested in multi-state cooperative societies of the beleaguered group.
These societies were — Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, Lucknow; Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd. Bhopal; Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, Kolkata, and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd, Hyderabad. Justice R Subhash Reddy is overseeing the digital disbursement process.
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As of now, Rs 369.91 crore has been disbursed to 4,29,166 depositors, with the Supreme Court granting an extension till December 31, 2024, for the full implementation of its March 29, 2023, order, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra revealed in a written Lok Sabha reply.
In line with the Supreme Court’s March 29, 2023, order, Rs 5,000 crore was transferred from the Sebi-Sahara Refund Account to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) on May 19, 2023. The Supreme Court had previously ordered Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL) to refund Rs 25,781.37 crore to Sebi.
As of March 31, 2024, Sebi has realised Rs 15,775.50 crore through various Supreme Court and its own attachment orders. The realised amount is being reinvested in fixed deposits with nationalized banks, totaling Rs 20,894 crore including interest, as stated by the minister.