SEBI Panel Says, PACL (Pearl Agrotech) Refund Portal Will Not Be Accessible For 5 Days

A high-powered Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) committee, which is looking into the refund process of PACL (Pearl Agrotech Corporation Limited) investors, today said the refund portal will not be accessible to those investors for five days due to technical issues.

The committee, headed by retired 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 panel in October provided a facility for investors with claims up to Rs 15,000, whose applications were found deficient, to correct the errors, if any, by logging in on the refund portal -- sebipaclrefund.co.in -- and resubmit the applications for further processing.

The facility has been made available from November 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023.

"However, due to technical issues, the refund portal will not be accessible for re-submission for 5 days," according to a statement on Sebi's website.

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

In December 2015, the regulator ordered the attachment of all assets of PACL and its nine promoters and directors for their failure to refund the money, which was 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. The defaulters were directed to wind up the schemes and refund money to investors within three months.

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