Mumbai: The Bombay high court has directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to submit a report about how many properties and assets were seized in the '7,000 crore Pancard Clubs scam. The court also put an interim stay on the auction of the properties till next hearing.
According to the SEBI, the directors of Pancard Clubs, a company listed in the share market, had lured investors promising lucrative returns once they invested money in their company. After some months, investors came to know that the company was not giving money so they moved the tribunal, which directed the SEBI to sell the company’s properties and return the investors’ money. The investors, however, claimed that SEBI was selling the properties below the ready reckoner rate and, therefore, moved the high court.
A division bench of Justice B.P. Dharmad-hikari and Justice Revati Mohite-Dere was hearing a petition filed by Raghv-endra Moghavera, one of the investors, alleging that SEBI is auctioning the properties below the ready reckoner rate. The plea, which sought the court’s intervention in the auction, alleges that the auctioning process is wrong. The petitioner also stated that the company’s directors had mentioned attractive offers like a stay in five-star hotels across the country and good returns on investment.
The petitioner said that, till today, SEBI has seized 68 properties of which 15 have been auctioned and 53 are yet to be auctioned. According to the SEBI, many of the properties are outside the country.
The petitioner alleged that the SEBI didn’t allow investors to invest their money in seven schemes of the company that were yielding good results.
