The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has questioned Sahara chief Subrata Roy for more than 8 hours in a case of violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). This case is related to the purchase of hotels by Sahara Group outside India. Subrata Roy was sent to jail in March 2014 for not returning investors' money and he is currently on parole.
According to information received by Aaj Tak-India Today, the ED has made this inquiry in its Mumbai office on Friday. According to sources, Subrata Roy, the head of Sahara Group, has been questioned for allegedly violating FEMA rules in the case of investment of about 3000 crores abroad.
According to sources, in the year 2010, Sahara invested through the Royal Bank of Scotland to buy hotels in the UK and the US. The ED is investigating alleged violations of FEMA rules in the deal.
Significantly, since the year 2008, Sahara chief Subrata Roy is facing the investigation of many agencies including SEBI. In February 2017, the Supreme Court ordered the seizure of Sahara's Ambi Valley City Township near Pune, which has a market value of about Rs 39,000 crore. This order was given to ensure that the investors' money is returned.
Roy received parole on 6 May 2017 after serving a prison sentence of nearly 2 years. He received this parole to attend his mother's funeral. Since then, it has been expanded till now.
Two directors, besides Roy, Ravi Shankar Dubey, failed to return Rs 24,000 crore to investors within the time frame set by the Supreme Court of two group companies Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corp Ltd (SHICL) And Ashok Roy Choudhary was also arrested. The Supreme Court had ordered the return of investors' money by 31 August 2012.
