HDFC Realty and SBI Capital have been appointed by capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to sell 60 properties of the Sahara Group. The move is seen as an attempt to free jailed Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy.
The Supreme Court had asked SEBI to sell the Sahara India Group's properties in a bid to recover dues. The proposal has been submitted in the court, although it does not include Aamby Valley and Sahara properties in Vasai — both located in Maharashtra, the Economic Times reports.
HDFC Realty and SBI Capital have been assigned the task of selling off 30 properties each, and the sale is expected to end by August 2016.
The Supreme Court had on March 29 asked the market regulator to begin the process of selling Sahara Group's real-estate assets in India in order to refund millions of people who had invested in its illegal bonds, Reuters had reported.
Sahara, which was the main sponsor of the Indian cricket team, has hotels abroad — including the Plaza in New York and the Grosvenor House in London. In addition, the conglomerate also has a chain of real-estate assets across India.
The group's chief is in New Delhi's Tihar Jail since March 2014 over a legal dispute with SEBI. The dispute pertains to the Rs. 24,000 crore collected by two Sahara Group companies — Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd.
