Court seeks SEBI response on Pearls Group CMD Bhangoo's plea

A Delhi court has directed SEBI to respond to a plea by Pearls Group CMD Nirmal Singh Bhangoo seeking stay on the proceedings in a case in which his firm has allegedly collected Rs 49,100 crore from investors in the name of investment schemes violating the law.
Additional Sessions Judge Arvind Kumar issued notice to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for February 11 on Bhangoo's plea which claimed that the regulator's complaint was based on the same allegations as that of a CBI FIR and he cannot be tried twice for the same alleged offence.
"Put up on February 11 for reply and arguments on the application filed by counsel for accused no. 6 (Bhangoo)," the court said.

The court had earlier taken cognizance of the SEBI's complaint and summoned as accused Pearl Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL), its promoters and directors, Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, Tarlochan Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Subrata Bhattacharya, Joginder Tyger, Gurnam Singh, Anand Gurwant Singh and Devinder Kumar Uppal.
Bhangoo, Sukhdev, Gurmeet and Bhattacharya did not appear in person and were represented through counsel as they are in CBI custody till tomorrow in the other case, while summons could not be served on Tarlochan, Tyger, Gurnam, Anand and Uppal. The firm was also represented through its counsel.
The court has issued fresh summons against Tarlochan, Tyger, Gurnam, Anand and Uppal.

SEBI's counsel Sanjay Mann said he will move an application for issuance of production warrant once the four accused are sent to judicial custody in the CBI case.

The court had on December 16, 2015 summoned the accused, saying prima facie violation under the provisions of SEBI Act and regulations of SEBI (CIS) Regulations, SEBI(Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Market) is made out in the alleged ponzi case.
In the plea seeking stay on proceedings, Bhangoo's counsel Vijay Aggarwal and Manish Jain also sought court's direction to call for a status report to probe whether investigation was continuing on the same offences as alleged in SEBI's case and that of CBI's FIR registered in 2014.

The firm challenged SEBI's recovery proceedings to
collect funds due to investors before Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), the SEBI complaint said.
It claimed that the firm, which had assets worth only Rs 11,000 crore, had allegedly siphoned of a huge amount of money which was untraceable.
The regulator had also imposed a penalty of over Rs 7,269 crore on the firm and its directors, it said.
It said SEBI has found that PACL has collected money from crores of investors through unauthorised collective investment schemes in the name of real estate projects. It is also said to have been involved in agricultural land-related schemes.

It said raising of money by the firm from general public without complying with the provisions of SEBI Act, CIS Regulations and PFUTP Regulations was done with the consent and connivance of the other nine accused.
Bhangoo, CMD of Pearls Golden Forest Ltd (PGF) and ex-Chairman of Pearls Australasia Pty Limited, Sukhdev Singh, MD and Promoter-Director of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL), Gurmeet Singh, Executive Director(Finance) and Subrata Bhattacharya, ED in the PGF/PACL were arrested by the CBI on January 8 in connection with alleged swindling of Rs 45,000 crore from over five crore investors.
In its FIR, CBI has claimed PACL and PGF were running the schemes illegally and both companies were allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities including forgery in their day-to-day operations.