Sebi extends time to July 25 to auction 61 properties of Saradha Group

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday said it has extended the time to July 25 to auction 61 properties of Saradha Group, which illegally mobilised money from investors.

Earlier, the auction was scheduled for July 17.

The regulator has been auctioning the properties of Saradha Group in a bid to recover money raised by the firm from the public through illicit schemes.

"Considering that the interested bidders expressed more time to submit EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) as intimated by Quikr Realty India Ltd, it has been decided to extend the last date of submission," the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a notice.

The regulator will auction properties of Saradha Group on July 25 between 11 am and 1 pm. The total reserve price of these properties is pegged at Rs 26.22 crore.

The properties to go under the hammer include land parcels located in West Bengal.

Saradha Group, a consortium of over 239 private companies, allegedly ran chit-fund operations in West Bengal, Assam and Odisha, and raised around Rs 4,000 crore from 1.7 million depositors before it collapsed in April 2013.

In June 2022, the Calcutta High Court passed an order directing Sebi to proceed with the auction of properties of the Saradha Group of Companies. The entire exercise was directed to be completed within three months.