HC appoints administrator for scam-hit CRB

The Bombay High Court has appointed A K Menon as provisional administrator to look after the affairs of CRB Trustees Limited and CRB Mutual Fund. This ad-interim relief was granted on Tuesday after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) moved the court seeking the appointment of an administrator. According to Sebi, it moved court when it found that there was no trustee or director to look after the interest of the unitholders. Soon after the fiasco , Sebi called for a report from the trustees of the fund as well as called for an emergency meeting of the directors of the trust. This was to ascertain the measures taken by them to protect the unitholders of the fund. Three of the trustees, SK Jain, KC Jain, and PK Saraf replied saying that they had resigned as trustees. The fourth one, VD Dixit, is believed to be away in Nepal and he has not yet replied to Sebi. CRB Mutual Fund collected Rs 2290000000 through its Arihant Mangal scheme in 1994. After hearing Rafique Dada, additional solicitor general of India, appearing for Sebi, the vacation judge, Justice AY Sakhare, has also directed that CRB Trustees Limited CRB AMC and IIT Corporate Services to hand over books of accounts, bank statements and all banking documents, papers, vouchers, records and all other documents in their custody. These entities have also been restrained from dealing with, disposing off, alienating or parting with the possession of any of their assets as well as the assets of the fund or any of the schemes of the fund. Menon will be acting in accordance with the directions given by the court from time to time. It may be recalled that A K Menon was the custodian of assets of tainted persons in the securities scam of 1992.