SEBI to auction 30 Rose Valley properties worth Rs.409 cr to repay investors

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday announced that it will auction 30 properties belonging to the Rose Valley Group on June 27, at a total reserve price of Rs.409.02 crore. The move is part of a court-directed effort to recover funds raised from the public through unauthorised investment schemes.

The properties include hotels, resorts, flats, land parcels, buildings, and an amusement park, located across West Bengal, Tripura, Bihar, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The online auction will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and interested bidders--both within and outside India--must participate directly, without the use of agents or representatives.

C1 India has been appointed by the market regulator as the e-auction platform provider, while Quikr Realty will assist in conducting the sale. Successful bidders will be responsible for all statutory charges, including stamp duty, registration, and transfer fees, the SEBI notice stated.

The auction follows a 2015 order by the Calcutta High Court, which constituted an Assets Disposal Committee (ADC) to oversee the sale of Rose Valley's assets. In September 2023, the court directed SEBI to initiate the auction process as part of that ongoing effort.

Earlier, SEBI auctioned 27 properties worth Rs.63.26 crore in November 2023, and 22 properties worth Rs.8.6 crore in May 2024. These sales were undertaken after Rose Valley failed to comply with SEBI's 2017 refund order, which targeted its illegal holiday membership plans classified as collective investment schemes.

In a related investigation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth Rs.150 crore in March 2023 under the anti-money laundering law. The funds were allegedly collected through fake and fabricated schemes marketed via agent networks across multiple states.

The auctions are aimed at repaying defrauded investors who were lured into the group's unauthorised financial operations.

www.business-standard.com, dt. 23-05-2025