MUMBAI: The Sahara group on Tuesday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating it has deposited Rs 3,117 crore so far with SEBI and that it is trying to raise more money to meet the condition of paying Rs 5,000 crore to get bail for its chief Subrata Roy.
It also said it is trying to raise more money to meet the condition of paying Rs 5,000 crore to get bail for its chief Subrata Roy.
Sahara counsel Keshav Mohan told PTI that the group filed an affidavit in the apex court informing it that the company has so far raised Rs 3,117 crore and deposited the amount with capital market regulator SEBI.
Roy and two directors were sent to judicial custody on March 4 for failure of two group companies – SIRECL and SHICL – to comply with the court’s order to return to investors Rs 24,000 crore that they had collected through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs).
The apex court had ordered that Roy can be released on bail after depositing Rs 10,000 crore with SEBI, out of which Rs 5,000 crore was to be deposited in cash and a bank guarantee for the remaining amount.
Last month Sahara sold approximately 4.21 lakh square metres of land belonging to its residential scheme ‘Sahara City’ in Ahmedabad to city-based developers for Rs 464 crore. According to a report in Times of India, Rs 2,705.70 crore of the Rs 3117 crore is from encashment/sale/transfer of FDs, bonds and securities while the balance Rs 411.82 crore were from sale proceeds of land at Ahmedabad”.
Sahara may be able to deposit the remaining Rs 1,883 crore with SEBI by selling nine properties it had listed before the court. The Ahmedabad land was one of the nine properties. Other real estate assets that were listed by the company include Chauma in Gurgaon worth Rs 1430 crore, Vasai (1169.72 crore) and Pune (Rs 575 crore). The company expects to raise Rs 4300 crore through these sales while the Rs 5,000 crore bank guarantee may come from selling its stake in the three hotels it owns abroad -Grosvenor House at London and two hotels in New York, Dreams Downtown Hotel and Plaza Hotel.
Sahara is reportedly also looking to raise mortgage on its Aamby Valley project, but given that the project hasn’t been quite a resounding commercial success and the company’s recent history of struggle with SEBI, experts warn that banks may not be too keen in extending the line of credit.
