Letters: The Sahara conundrum

Apropos the report "Getting ready for the anniversary" (May 13), the Rs 24,000 crore figure quoted by the Sahara chief was not the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi's) investigative disclosure. It was also Sahara that quoted the 30 million depositors figure in its optionally fully-convertible debentures scheme. Now, according to Sebi's dipstick, 99 per cent of these investors are non-existent, but the Rs 24,000 crore figure is accurate. Ideally, Sahara should have given details of a few thousand identifiable investors, and Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,000 crore as the investment. This would have been a win-win situation for all - Sebi, Sahara and the Supreme Court. If the argument is that the rest of the money was laundered, then Sahara has actually tied the cheat sheet along with the answer sheet.

Next, according to Sahara, it has returned a major portion of the money to depositors, and what now remains is some Rs 5,000 crore (which Sahara has given to Sebi). Not to forget that Sahara has also provided truckloads of documents on these depositors. Trying to make head and tail of these documents, Sebi is of the view that Sahara is lying, and it has not returned any "real money". Money? To whom? Non-existent investors?

Moreover, Sebi wants Sahara to pay the entire Rs 24,000 crore so that the regulator can pay depositors (that it believes do not exist). Add to this the curious case of some 5,000-odd Kalawatis in the Sahara list of investors. And Sahara's claim that it would amount to "paying twice" because it has already refunded the money to some investors. The only way out is for Sebi and Sahara to come out with a more practical road map under the strict and watchful eyes of the Supreme Court.

Abhay Jha Ghaziabad

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