Sebi cancels Sahara Mutual Fund licence

In a fresh crackdown on the Saharas, regulator Sebi on Tuesday cancelled the registration of Sahara Mutual Fund saying it was no longer 'fit and proper' to carry out this business and ordered transfer of its operations to another fund house. Sahara group has been engaged in a long-running regulatory and legal battle with Sebi ever since the regulator ordered refund of a massive amount of over Rs 24,000 crore by two Sahara entities. Recently, Sebi had also cancelled the Portfolio Management licence of a Sahara firm.

In the latest order, Sebi directed cancellation of Sahara Mutual Fund's certificate of registration on expiry of a six- month period from Tuesday. Sebi also directed Sahara Mutual Fund and Sahara Asset Management Company to stop accepting subscription from its existing or new investors with immediate effect.

Besides, Sahara MF has been asked to "make efforts to transfer the activities of Sahara India Financial Corporation Limited (Sahara Sponsor) and Sahara Asset Management Company Private Limited (Sahara AMC) to a new Sponsor and a Sebi- approved Asset Management Company at the earliest."