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Citrus Check Inns and 4 Directors Barred Until Rs3,036 Crore Is Refunded to Investors
Moneylife Digital Team 10 October 2025
Investor Interest
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Citrus Check Inns Ltd and its four directors, Omprakash Basantlal Goenka, Prakash Ganpat Utekar, Venkatraman Natarajan, and Narayan Shivram Kotnis, from markets until they refund Rs3,036 crore to investors. Citrus Check Inns and the directors collected money from investors through unregistered collective investment schemes (CIS). 
 
The SEBI order comes after a legal battle spanning over a decade, involving multiple interventions by the securities appellate tribunal (SAT) and the Supreme Court.
 
The case dates back to a complaint received on 17 January 2014, alleging that Citrus Check Inns operated a ‘Ponzi scheme’, mis-selling investment plans and failing to return investors’ money. Investigations revealed that the company operated CIS-like schemes without obtaining SEBI registration, thereby violating the SEBI Act, 1992, and the CIS Regulations, 1999. An interim ex-parte order in June 2015 had already restrained Citrus Check Inn and its directors from raising fresh funds or launching new schemes.
 
Citrus offered ‘holiday plans’, inviting public investments in redeemable points for holiday stays or cash, promising returns of up to 21.24%. Between FY11–12 and FY14–15, the company mobilised Rs3,036 crore from 15.22 lakh investors across 25 plans. Notably, just seven of these plans accounted for Rs2,722 crore, representing nearly 90% of total collections.
 
The company employed an aggressive, agent-driven marketing model, utilising over 12.5 lakh agents, nearly one per investor, and offering commissions as high as 27.8%. Approximately 25% of collections were allocated to agent commissions, with promotional expenses accounting for a significant portion of operating costs. SEBI noted that this model closely resembled a pyramid scheme, prioritising new investor recruitment over legitimate business operations.
 
In February 2016, SAT held that Citrus Check Inns' activities constituted a CIS but allowed the company to seek SEBI registration. SEBI challenged this, and in November 2016, the Supreme Court directed SEBI to complete its investigation and restrained Citrus Check Innn from alienating assets. Insolvency proceedings initiated in 2017 were stayed in 2018, and instead, a sale-cum-monitoring committee (SMC) under justice JP Devadhar was formed to oversee asset sales and investor refunds.
 
After years of legal pendency, the Supreme Court in August 2024 allowed SEBI to proceed with enforcement action. SEBI issued a show-cause notice in March 2025. While Citrus Check Inn and its directors argued that the notice was delayed, SEBI clarified that proceedings had been paused due to the insolvency moratorium and court directions.
 
SEBI confirmed that Citrus Check Inn met all conditions under Section 11AA(2) of the SEBI Act, establishing it as an unregistered CIS. The directors, also promoters, were held responsible for fund mobilisation and violations of Section 12(1B) of the SEBI Act and Regulation 3 of the CIS Regulations. As a result, they are prohibited from buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in securities until all investors are fully refunded. 
 
Citrus Check Inns is the rebranded version of the infamous Royal Twinkle Star Club, which had similarly sold holiday packages with high-return promises. SEBI had barred Royal Twinkle Star Club and its directors in 2014, but the entity resurfaced as Citrus Check Inns. (Read: MONEYLIFE IMPACT: SEBI bars Royal Twinkle Star Club from collecting money)
 
In June 2025, SEBI also imposed a Rs50 lakh penalty on Royal Twinkle Star Club and key officials for violating orders related to investor fund collection. (Read: SEBI Slaps Rs50 Lakh Penalty on Royal Twinkle Star Club and Key Officials for Violating Investor Fund Collection Order)
 
To facilitate refunds, SEBI appointed a committee led by retired district judge AP Kurhekar, which launched a dedicated refund portal, www.citrusroyalrefund.com, allowing investors to claim dues transparently.  (Read: Royal Twinkle Star Club & Citrus Check Inns Refund Website Launched by Kurhekar Committee)
 
Simultaneously, SEBI initiated auctions of Citrus’s properties to recover funds, including a 10,500 sq ft Mumbai office, a 13,941 sq ft Bengaluru land parcel with a 55,000 sq ft hotel, and multiple properties in Lonavala with hotel infrastructure. These measures aim to ensure investors are fully refunded. (Read: Royal Twinkle Star Club & Citrus Check Inns: SEBI Issues Notice to Auction Properties at Alappuzha, Lower Parel, Bengaluru and Lonavala)
 
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