Sebi today ordered Sunplant Bio Energy and its seven current, past directors and promoters to refund within three months the investors' money that the firm had raised through illegal collective investment schemes (CIS).
The regulator has also barred the entities from accessing the securities market and prohibited them from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in it, directly or indirectly, "till the directions for refund/repayment to investors are complied with... And for a further period of four years from the date of completion of the refund".
Also, the past and present directors and promoters have been restrained from holding position as directors or key managerial personnel of any listed company for a period of four years.
According to an interim order passed by Sebi in 2015, the company had collected an amount of Rs 4.88 crore under the Social Forestry Scheme and Bio-Fuel Scheme during 2011-12.
After identifying the schemes as collective investment schemes, which Sunplant Bio Energy Pvt Ltd (SBEPL) was running without securing approval from Sebi, the regulator had directed the entities not to collect any fresh money from investors for its existing schemes, among others, in the interim order.
In the fresh order, Sebi reiterated that the activities of the firm constitute CIS and they have been carried out without seeking a registration from Sebi, thereby contravening the CIS Regulations.
The firm and its seven present and past directors and promoters are "jointly and severally" liable to wind up the existing collective investment schemes, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said.
In case the entities fail to comply with Sebi's directives, the regulator would initiate recovery proceedings against them.
The seven past and present directors and promoters are Awdhesh Kumar Singh, Girija Shankar Kumar, Sumanta Sinha, Neeraj Pathak, Sunil Kumar Jha, Subir Gupta and Padmalochan Nayak.
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