PACL case: Deadline to submit original investment docs extended till Aug 31

To facilitate refunds, a high-powered Sebi committee on Friday extended the deadline till August 31 for submission of original investment documents by investors who had put money into the illegal schemes of PACL.

They are required to submit their documents only after receiving an SMS from the panel. This is applicable only for those investors whose claim money is between Rs 10,001 and Rs 15,000 and whose applications have been verified.

The earlier deadline for submission of documents was June 30.

''The committee has now extended the last date for submission of original PACL registration certificates to August 31, 2022,'' Sebi said in a press release.

Investors who have received SMS from the committee requiring submission of original documents have been asked to forward the same by registered or speed post to Sebi's headquarters in Mumbai, it added.

The markets regulator had set up a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha following a Supreme Court order to refund money to investors in the PACL Group case.

The panel 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.

PACL, also known as Pearl Group, had raised money from the public in the name of agriculture and real estate businesses. It was found by Sebi to have collected more than Rs 60,000 crore through illegal collective investment schemes (CIS) over a period of 18 years.

In December 2015, Sebi had ordered attachment of all assets of PACL and its nine promoters and directors for their failure to refund the money due to investors.

Sebi had asked PACL as well as its promoters and directors to refund the money in an order passed in August 2014. Also, the defaulters were directed to wind up the schemes and refund money to the investors within three months from the date of the order.