Sahara Credit Co-op: Ashish is the latest victim

Ahmadabad based Ashish Singh is a troubled man as despite his repeated visits to Sahara’s office he could not get what he had deposited six years ago as Fixed Deposit in the company’s latest conversion of business into a cooperative entity.

When SEBI and RBI tightened its noose on Sahara it came up with a novel idea of setting up a credit cooperative society to carry out its para-banking business. Since its customers were loyal having trust in the company, they went on depositing money with it.

Things changed, however, when the Supreme Court asked Sahara to deposit Rs 24 thousand crore into the govt coffer. The high-profile owner of the Company who loved to be addressed as Saharashree had to cool his heels in Tihar Jail scouting for the fund.

Coming to the present case Ashish opened an account in “Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited” for duration of five years (June 2011 to June 2015). In Ashish’s words “Agent said due to running case on Sahara kindly fix deposit your amount for 2 year then you will get whole money.”

“Two year has been over on 7th June 2017 and I visited to Sahara office on 10th June 2017. Now Sahara office Manager is saying that you need to wait for six month more. I have doubt on Sahara that’s why I am writing an email to you for help. At this moment money is much required for me”, the poor chap writes.

He has also mailed all the proofs of his claim.

According to a report, the govt has received several complaints about non-payment.

The Sahara Credit Cooperative Society was set up in 2010. Selling time deposit plans through loosely regulated credit cooperatives is rampant in India.

They collect deposits from investors for a fixed period of time and promise to return the money at interest rates higher than what banks offer.

In addition to hunting for new customers, Sahara agents and branch officials are also trying to get investors in older Sahara savings plans to switch into the new credit cooperative schemes.

The first of the Sahara credit cooperatives, Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, was set up in 2010, around the time when India’s markets regulator started investigating the Sahara bond scheme the Supreme Court would later declare illegal.

Sahara has started three more credit cooperatives since January 2014: Humara India Credit Cooperative Society, Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society and Saharayn E-Multipurpose Society.