Money for Subrata Roy's bail to enter India only after RBI clearance: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered that the money arranged by Sahara Group for the release of its jailed chief Subrata Roy, will come into the country only after necessary clearances by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The apex court has also agreed that legal impediments in the transfer of money from escrow account of foreign bank agent require special permission by competent authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), further stating that any direction can be passed on satisfaction of SEBI and amicus curiae.

Subrata Roy, who was sent to jail on March 4 this year for the non- refund of over Rs 20,000 crores to depositors, was asked by the court to pay Rs 10,000 crores for getting bail, out of which Rs 5,000 crores must be in cash and rest of the amount should be in the form bank guarantees.

Sahara has so far raised Rs 3,117 crore, which has been deposited with SEBI.

The group, however, claims that it has already repaid money to 93 percent investors.

Earlier in August this year, the apex court had allowed Roy and two directors of his group to use the conference room in the Tihar jail complex for ten days with effect from August 5 to hold negotiations with potential buyers. It was further extended to 15 more working days in September to wind up negotiations to sell his overseas properties.

The court, while refusing to grant interim bail or parole, had allowed selling of his luxury hotels in order to enable the Sahara chief to hold negotiations for selling his properties in India and abroad to raise Rs 10,000 crore in order to get a regular bail.