To recoup investors’ funds, SEBI will auction off properties owned by 7 business groups on June 28
Sebi, the market regulator, said on Thursday that it would hold an auction on June 28 for 17 properties owned by seven different business groups, including MPS Group, Tower Infotech, and Vibgyor Group, with a total reserve price of Rs 51 crore.
In addition to this, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) announced in a notification that the regulator has placed properties owned by the Prayag Group, Multipurpose BIOS India Group, Waris Finance International Group, and Pailan Group of Companies on block.
The 17 properties up for sale span West Bengal and comprise land plots, multi-story structures, apartments, and a commercial area.
Sebi invited bids and announced that the properties will be auctioned off online between the hours of 11 am and 1 pm. Quikr Realty has been hired by Sebi to help with the sale of these properties, and the assets’ total reserve price has been established at Rs 51 crore.
Five of the total properties up for sale belong to the MPS Group, four to Vibgyor, three to the Pailan Group of Companies, two to Tower Infotech, one to Multipurpose BIOS India Group, Prayag Group, and one to Waris Finance.
Prior to making their offers, the regulator advised the bidders to do their own independent investigations about encumbrances, the title of the properties put up for sale, and claims, among other things.
Sebi was forced to intervene since these businesses had solicited money from investors without adhering to the rules.
Previously, the regulator had attached some of their properties as a result of orders demanding them to return investors’ money with interest. The markets regulator has also attached bank accounts and demat accounts in several cases.
According to the Sebi directives, MPS Greenery Developers, a member of the MPS Group of Companies, amassed Rs 1,520 crore from investors via unauthorised Collective Investment Schemes (CIS).
Between 2007-2008 and 2011-2012, Prayag Infotech offered redeemable preference shares and attracted at least Rs 131.37 crore from more than 1.57 million investors.
In order to fund Rs 61.76 crore in 2009, Vibgyor Allied Infrastructure offered optionally fully convertible debentures to 49,562 investors.
Between 2005 and 2010, Tower Infotech issued non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and redeemable preference shares, raising about Rs 46 crore from more than 49,000 investors.
Between the fiscal years 2007–08 and 2011–12, Multi Purpose Bios raised Rs 5.97 crore from more than 1,460 investors via redeemable preference shares, while Waris Finance raised Rs 5.12 crore by issuing NCDs.
Through the issuance of non-convertible secured redeemable debentures, the Kolkata-based Pailan Group, which includes Pailan Agro India Ltd and Pailan Park Development Authority Ltd, raised more than Rs 98 crore from the general public.
