Sahara staff helping raise bail money to free Roy

AFP/New DelhiSahara group said yesterday its employees were helping to raise $1.7bn in bail money to free the financial giant’s chief Subrata Roy from prison. Roy, 65, was sent to New Delhi’s Tihar Jail on March 4 over a case involving the repayment of billions of dollars collected in an illegal investment scheme. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ordered Roy, who has a mansion modelled on the White House, to post bail of Rs100bn ($1.7bn). In a statement, Sahara said the move by workers to drum up the money was “an emotional initiative” by the people. But media reported that Sahara executives had sent employees e-mails urging them to contribute, a claim denied by an executive of the company. Sahara, a household name through its one-time sponsorship of India’s cricket team and owner of landmark New York and London hotels, raised Rs200bn ($3.2bn) from millions of small savers through an illegal bond scheme. Regulators ordered the group to pay the money back with 15% interest - even though the Supreme Court said there were “serious doubts about the existence” of the investors. That fuelled long-running allegations the company may have been engaged in money-laundering for rich politicians.