Sebi committee asks PACL investors to submit documents for refund

MUMBAI: A high-level Sebi committee on Monday asked investors in illegal schemes of PACL Group, also known as Pearl Group, with claims of up to Rs 17,000 to produce original documents by March 20 for receiving refunds. The panel has asked only those investors, whose applications have been successfully verified, to submit their original certificates.

The committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, is overseeing the process of disposing of properties to refund investors after verifying their genuineness. It has already initiated the process of refund in phases. The panel was set up by Sebi in 2016 following a Supreme Court order.

The committee has decided to call for original PACL registration certificates from eligible investors with claims between Rs 15,001 and Rs 17,000, whose applications have been successfully verified, according to a statement published on SEBI’s website on Monday. Accordingly, intimation through SMS will be sent to all eligible investors, requiring them to submit original PACL registration certificates. 

“The window for accepting original certificates shall remain open from February 27, 2023, to March 20, 2023,” Sebi said in a statement on Monday. Further, investors have been cautioned against parting with their original PACL registration certificates unless an SMS is received from the Committee, requiring submission of original certificates. PACL, which had raised Rs 60,000 crore from the public in the name of agriculture and real estate businesses, was found by Sebi to have collected these funds through illegal collective investment schemes over 18 years.