Sahara India Pariwar, founded in 1978 by Subrata Roy, started as a small chit fund and expanded into a massive business empire.
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Over the years, Sahara ventured into finance, real estate, media, sports sponsorships, and even hospitality. It became a household name in India.
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Sahara became synonymous with Indian cricket, sponsoring the national team’s jerseys for years and gaining immense public trust.
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By 2006, Sahara Group faced financial difficulties as its investor base from rural India saturated, leading to an IPO attempt.
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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) found financial discrepancies in Sahara’s real estate and housing investment arms.
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Sahara raised money through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs), bypassing regulatory approvals, leading to suspicion.
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In 2012, SEBI ordered Sahara to refund investors, but the group delayed payments, leading to further legal trouble.
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In 2014, the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Subrata Roy for non-compliance with repayment orders.
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Sahara sent over 31,000 boxes of investor documents to SEBI, claiming to have repaid investors, but SEBI found inconsistencies.
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The Enforcement Directorate charged Sahara with money laundering in 2017, further deepening the controversy.
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While some investors received refunds, a large amount remains unclaimed, with the government considering transferring funds to the Consolidated Fund of India.
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Despite its downfall, Sahara contributed to humanitarian causes and corporate social responsibility initiatives in India.
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Image source: Photo by SUBRATA ROY, Businessman, licensed under CC BY-ND, via flickr.com