SEBI to auction PACL cars

On 30th August, Badkhalsa village near Haryana’s Sonepat would be busy, bustling with activity’ at least that is what SEBI is hoping.

Eight Auidi’s, four Range Rovers, few Jaguars and Mercedes, a white Porsche Cayenne, a black Bentley with a VIP registration number, a Madeira Red Rolls Royce Phantom and Volvos and Fortuners – all 47 luxury cars and SUVs are to be auctioned.

This belonged to the beleaguered Pearl Agrotech Corp, which changed its name to PACL. Its story is like that of Sahara where huge amounts, some Rs.49,000 crore was collected from people across the country and soon the promoter went phut. And what we see is that this is how people’s hard earned money was used – to lead a false, pretentious luxurious life, coming at the cost of the not-so-rich and poor.

SEBI is trying to raise money from the auctioning of these cars and get some money to repay the depositors. It plans to follow up with sale of land and other immovable assets. This is ideally how the Sahara case should also go but SEBI is constrained by not being able to touch some of the more liquid assets such as the Aamby Valley and the overseas hotels.

The auction would be conducted through the website of MSTC India, public sector firm. Are you going to bid?