PACL: Investors with a Claim of up to Rs15,000 Allowed To Check Status, Rectify Deficiencies

Moneylife Digital Team 01 November 2022

A panel from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed investors with a claim of up to Rs15,000 to check the status of their claim application and rectify deficiencies, if any.

In a public notice, the market regulator has asked PACL investors to log on to https://www.sebipaclrefund.co.in to check the status of their claim and correct mistakes or rectify deficiencies, if any, in the application. This facility will be available from 1 November 2022 to 31 January 2023.

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

Till today, the committee has refunded claims of up to Rs15,000 to PACL investors. "However, certain applications having claims up to Rs15,000 could not be processed on account of one or more deficiencies," SEBI says.

Earlier, in January and July 2020, the justice Lodha committee had allowed PACL investors with a claim of up to Rs5,000 and between Rs5,001 and Rs7,000 to check the status of their claim and rectify deficiencies, if any. Later in 2021, this facility was extended to PACL investors with claims of up to Rs10,000.

PACL, also known as Pearl Group, had raised money from the public in the name of agriculture and real estate businesses.

According to SEBI, PACL collected more than Rs60,000 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 also its promoters and directors, to refund the money in an order dated 22 August 2014. The defaulters were directed to wind up the schemes and refund money to the investors within three months from the date of the order.

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