Samruddha Jeevan Foods India Limited is an unlisted company that solicited deposits from members of the general public without obtaining the necessary authorizations. The company raised over Rs.300 crore while operating a Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) in violation of the SEBI Regulation, 1999.
Samruddha Jeevan was soliciting funds from the general public in order to establish a goat/buffalo and sheep farming business. Under its various plans, the company offered to double the money in five and a half years and to provide ‘accidental death assistance’ equal to 1.5 times the contract value.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India initiated the investigation after receiving multiple complaints about company agents promising “fixed returns of over 12 percent on investments in cattle and goat farms.”
The company’s financial statements for fiscal years 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-12 displayed all the funds it collected from oblivious customers. Using depositor funds, the company spent over Rs 56 crore on advertising and sales promotion.
What actions did the SEBI take?
In September 2015, the markets regulator SEBI demanded that Samruddha Jeevan Foods India and its directors wind down the existing CIS and refund investor funds collected through unauthorised cattle and goat farm schemes within three months.
The company and its directors — Mahesh Kisan Motewar, Mrs. Vaishali Mahesan Motewar, and Rajendra Pandering Bhandare — have been barred from the capital market until all the CIS are wound up and all the money raised through such schemes is refunded to its investors with interest.
In addition, the directors are prohibited from selling any of the company’s assets, except to make investor refunds.
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The Adjudicating Officer imposes a penalty of Rs 1, 72,10,315 against Samruddha Jeevan on January 19, 2022, which is owed to SEBI. The sanction was deemed appropriate because the company did not repay its investors.
Samruddha Jeevan was subject to recovery proceedings after failing to pay investors over Rs. 300 crore. In February 2022, however, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) upheld SEBI’s decision after the company’s director filed an appeal challenging SEBI’s veracity. The appeal was ultimately denied by the tribunal.
Approximately 13 million Samruddha Jeevan Ltd. investors have yet to receive a refund. Even though the mastermind of the fraud, Mahesh Motewar, was arrested in 2015 and the company’s assets were seized, recovery and refund procedures have not yet begun.