SC restrains PACL from selling its properties

The Supreme Court today restrained Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL) and its promoters from disposing of its properties both in India and abroad after SEBI alleged that the company has siphoned off 98 million dollars in Australia.
PACL Ltd and its promoters and directors, including Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, have been embroiled in a legal battle for their alleged failure to refund Rs 49,100 crore to investors, an amount collected through chit funds schemes.
A bench comprising Justices A R Dave and L Nageshwara Rao also issued notice to Centre and sought its response on a plea of investors seeking the court's intervention against alleged siphoning off of funds by the PACL group.

A plea filed by investors group, Janlok Prathishtan Sanghata Committee has also sought the government's help in bringing overseas assets of the group under control, liquidate these and get refund of money to its 5.85 crore investors across the country.
Advocate Pratap Venugopal, appearing for Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), sought a direction from the court to the Centre for restraining PACL from selling its overseas assets.
"Investors have moved an Australian court and sought injunction against assets sold by PACL for 98 million dollar," Venugopal said.

The group, comprising 45,000 investors, had alleged that the group has assets worth Rs 4,500 crore in Australia.

It has said that the group's assets include Sheraton Mirage Resort (Sheraton) on the Gold Coast through a company called Pearls Australasia Mirage 1 Pty Ltd incorporated in October 2009, Pearls Infrastructure Projects Ltd and several other properties.
The apex court had earlier asked PACL to approach the expert panel appointed by it to monitor the sale of assets and refund of money to the investors, for any relief for release of funds.
The apex court had directed that title deeds of various
lands of PACL should be handed over by CBI to SEBI, which shall accordingly take appropriate steps to ensure their sale for the purpose of refunding the money to the investors.

It also directed PACL not to accept any deposit from the public and restrained any court from interfering with sale proceedings.
SEBI has initiated recovery proceedings against the group and its promoters and directors.
Earlier, SEBI had passed a refund order against various PACL group companies after holding them guilty of illegitimately pooling funds from the public through a collective investment scheme.
SEBI found that PACL had collected money from crores of investors through unauthorised collective investment schemes in the name of real estate projects and some agricultural land-related schemes.