Sebi orders Sahara MF to surrender licence by August

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has directed Sahara Mutual Fund to surrender its certificate of registration by August 27 while winding up all but one of its schemes — Sahara Tax Gain Fund — by April 21. In an order by whole-time member G. Mahalingam, the capital markets regulator said the deadline had been set keeping in mind the interest of the investors of tax gain fund. “Sahara Mutual Fund is permitted to continue to run its ‘Sahara Tax Gain Fund’ till July 27, 2018. However, Sahara MF shall not accept any new investor under ‘Sahara Tax Gain Fund.’ Sahara Mutual Fund is directed to compulsorily redeem each investment in ‘Sahara Tax Gain Fund’ as and when the lock in period expires,” said the SEBI order. In July 2015, the capital market regulator had cancelled the registration of Sahara MF with effect from six months from the order. Thereafter, the mutual fund filed an appeal at the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) and subsequently at the Supreme Court, which dismissed the appeal in October 2017. As a result the regulator directed Sahara MF to comply with the SEBI order but modified the deadline so that interests of the investors is not compromised. The trustees of Sahara MF have been directed to file a monthly report to SEBI updating the status of the redemption process from April till the winding up of all schemes.