Subrata Roy, the founder of Sahara Group and former owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Pune Warriors India, passed away on Tuesday after a prolonged battle with metastatic lethality, high blood pressure, and diabetes-related complications. He was 75.
According to the company’s statement, after his health deteriorated, he was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute in Mumbai on Sunday.
Following a long struggle with metastatic lethality, high blood pressure, and diabetes-related complications, Subrata Roy succumbed to cardiorespiratory arrest on Tuesday night at 10:30 pm in the hospital.
Established by Roy in 1978, the Sahara India family sponsored the titles of Indian national cricket and hockey teams, as well as the cricket team of Bangladesh. In 2011, the group also acquired a stake in the Formula One team Force India.
After building a vast business empire in real estate and financial services, Roy became a central figure in several controversies, facing numerous regulatory and legal battles concerning allegations of violating rules in mega-construction projects.
In various cases brought against the group, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) ordered in 2011 that Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHICL) return the money collected from investors through optionally fully convertible debentures in the form of bonds that were deemed illegal by the regulator after a prolonged legal process.
After a lengthy process of appeals and cross-appeals, the Supreme Court upheld SEBI’s directions on August 31, 2012, instructing both companies to return the collected funds to investors with 15% interest. Sahara was ordered to deposit an estimated Rs. 24,000 crores with SEBI for further refunds to investors, although the group consistently claimed it was a “double payment” as they had already repaid over 95% of the investors.
In 2014, after failing to appear before the apex court in a contempt case arising from non-compliance with returning the funds, an order to arrest Roy was issued. His two companies had already refunded Rs. 20,000 crores to investors by then.
