Sebi cautions investors in PACL case

The market watchdog is tightening the noose on PACL for refunding over Rs 49,000 cr raised through illegal money pooling activity

Seeking to protect the interest of investors in PACL's illegal money-pooling case, Sebi has cautioned them against yielding to any pressure from the group or its agents.

The market watchdog is tightening the noose on PACL for refunding over Rs 49,000 crore raised through illegal money pooling activity, which is seen as one of the biggest ponzi schemes in the country.

To help investors, Sebi has come out with a detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the PACL matter in multiple languages, including English and Hindi.

Besides, the FAQs have been issued in regional languages, including Assamese, Malayalam, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil and Bengali. It has also been published in Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Telugu and Urdu.

Following a Supreme Court order, Sebi has also set up a high-level committee to ensure refunds in the PACL case are made to genuine investors.

The panel, chaired by former chief justice of India R M Lodha, is in the process of collecting documents of PACL from CBI to initiate the process of disposing of properties to refund money to investors after verifying their genuineness.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has advised investors concerned to "hold onto the original documents and submit the same for refund upon asked for".

"It is advised not to yield to any pressure from any person, including PACL or their agents, for converting or switching over existing investments to any of their other schemes, if any," it said.

PACL, which had raised money from public in the name of agriculture and real estate businesses, was found by Sebi to have collected over Rs 49,100 crore through illegal collective investment schemes over a period of 18 years.