Hyderabad: A day after Sebi ordered a Sahara Group company to refund Rs 14,000 crore that it raised from public as deposits, the Lucknow-based Subrata Roy-led group on Friday accused the market regulator of “overlooking the hard facts” and the situation prevalent in 1998 when it issued OFCDs.

The Group insisted that everything was done as per law and after taking all the necessary permissions from the government authorities.

Explaining further, the Sahara Group said: “In 1998, Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL) had taken the written permission from Registrar of Companies, the ministry of corporate affairs, for the first time, for issuing OFCDs. Then we got two more such permissions in 2009 for Sahara Real Estate and Sahara Housing from the competent authorities, regarding which a case is going on in the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”

OFCDs or Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures is a hybrid product which can be converted into shares at the expiry of a certain period at predetermined price, if the investor wishes to do so.

The Sahara Group said SICCL has already discharged all its OFCD liabilities except for Rs 17 crore as outstanding OFCD liability towards 54,804 members.  “The TDS deducted on interest paid has been deposited with the income-tax department. Hence the order makes it a case of double payment for the liability, which SICCL has already discharged.”

According to the conglomerate, its issue was opened on July 6, 1998 when the issue of such securities was not limited to less than 50 people.