Supreme Court allows markets regulator SEBI to sell Sahara properties

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to start the process of selling some of embattled conglomerate Sahara's real estate assets in the country to refund millions of investors, lawyers said on Tuesday.

Sahara, a household name in India as the former main sponsor of the national cricket team, has major hotels overseas including the Plaza in New York and the Grosvenor House in London, besides vast real estate assets in India.

Its founder Subrata Roy was arrested in March 2014 after the company failed to comply with a court order to refund money raised from millions of small investors by selling them bonds later ruled to be illegal.

The country's top court in June last year said the group needed to repay the entire 360 billion rupees ($5.4 billion) the court says it owes investors in illegal bonds.