Sebi will auction off three companies’ properties on May 30 in order to recoup investors’ money.

NEW DELHI: The market watchdog Sebi announced on Thursday that it will auction off three companies’ properties next month to recoup money that was unlawfully collected from investors: Infinity Realcon, Bishal Group of Companies, and Sumangal Industries.

According to a public notice released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), a total of 26 properties owned by three different corporations will be auctioned off with a reserve price exceeding Rs 21 crore.

The 26 properties are divided into 13 that are related to Infinity Realcon, 10 that are owned by the Bishal Group of Companies (Bishal Abasan India Ltd, Bishal Distillers Ld, Bishal Agri-Bio Industries Ltd, and Bishal Horticulture and Animal Projects Ltd), and three that are owned by Sumangal Industries.

These assets include West Bengal-based residential buildings, flats, single-story buildings, and land parcels.

Bids for the sale of properties are being accepted as part of the recovery actions against the three companies, as well as their promoters and directors. According to Sebi, the auction will be held online on May 30 from 10:30 to 12:30.

The e-auction service provider has been selected as Adroit Technical Services.

The regulator has instructed the bidders to do their own independent investigations before submitting their offers about encumbrances, the title of the properties up for sale, and claims, among other things.

Over 25,000 investors received redeemable preference issues (RPS) from Infinity Realcon, which between 2009–10 and 2012–13 raised over Rs 19 crore. Debentures were also issued to raise an additional Rs 1 crore.

Without following the public issue rules, the four Bishal Group entities raised money by issuing RPS to more than 49 people.

Bishal Distillers had raised $4 million, Bishal Agri-Bio Industries had raised $3 million, and Bishal Horticulture and Animal Projects had raised $2.84 million.

The businesses raised funding between 2006 and 2014.

Additionally, Bishal Abasan India raised Rs 2.75 crore in 2011–2012 through the allocation of RPS and collected Rs 89 crore in 2012–2014 through the issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

Through unauthorized collective investment schemes (CIS), Sumangal Industries received Rs 85 crore from investors. The company was operating unlawful “potato purchase” investment schemes that guaranteed investors gains of up to 100% in just 15 months.