The Supreme Court on Tuesday formed a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India RM lodha to oversee refund of deposits of over five crore people who invested over `49,000 crore in a ponzi scheme run by Pearls Group.
With the group officials already in CBI custody for defrauding depositors on the false promise of giving them land with high promised returns, the Bench of Justices AR Dave and Adarsh Goel directed CBI and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to cooperate with the Justice lodha Committee and provide title deeds of all lands available with the company to be put on sale for generating refund.
The deposits were collected by two flagship companies under the group — Pearls Agrotech Corporation limited and Pearls Golden Forest limited. The court posted the matter for hearing next on August 2.
The SEBI has initiated recovery against PACl ltd and its promoters and directors, including Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, for its failure to refund `49,100 crore to investors.