In a big relief to depositors whose money remains held up in Sahara Group cooperatives, the Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said in Parliament that the government is fully committed to disbursing refunds to every last depositor. Shah reported that, as of January 28, 2025, a total of Rs 2,025.75 crore has been returned to 11,61,077 depositors.

In the Lok Sabha, MPs Chandraprakash Chaudhary, Satpal Brahmchari, and Sanatan Pandey raised questions about the status of the Sahara Refund Portal, the payment limit of ₹50,000, and the steps taken to return the full amount to depositors.

Amit Shah explained that the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal was launched on July 18, 2023, as per the Supreme Court’s order dated March 29, 2023. The Supreme Court had ordered the transfer of Rs 5,000 crore from the ‘Sahara-SEBI Refund Account’ to CRC-Sahara, to return the rightful money to depositors.

The process is being carried out under the supervision of Justice R. Subhash Reddy (former Supreme Court judge) and advocate Gaurav Agrawal. This portal is fully digital and paperless to ensure transparency. All payments are being sent directly to bank accounts linked to Aadhaar.

Amit Shah clarified that a maximum of Rs 50,000 is being paid per verified depositor subject to proper identification and valid identity proof. However, the government is working on raising additional resources to ensure that all depositors receive their full amount.

To simplify the process, the government also launched a re-submission portal on November 15, 2023, allowing depositors who had their claims previously rejected to correct errors and re-apply.

Depositors can still register their complaints and claims on the https://mocrefund.crcs.gov.in portal. The government will continue to share updates regarding the process.