It was a surprise for Mubeena Khanum, a resident of Shanti Nagar, as she received a text message on her phone on Wednesday evening informing that her account was credited with ₹7,262 as part of the IMA refund.
She called other investors to cross check, who also confirmed that they had received similar messages. Ms. Khanum, a homemaker, had invested ₹3 lakh in 2017 as part of her savings in IMA, a halal investment scheme that went bust in 2019, to fund her son’s education. “I shifted my son to a better school thinking i can pay the fee from the returns I get every month from IMA,” she said.
But luck ran out for her as the company shut after she received around ₹90,000 as returns. “I am happy that I received this money, but also sad at how little it is and how long I may have to wait to recover fully what is owed to me,” she said.
Like Ms. Khanum, over 55,000 investors received part refunds as per the equitable distribution formula, approved by the city court, to share the ₹69.46 crore available with the competent authority after sale of movable assets, to investors. The Competent Authority categorised investors as most affected and least affected based on their deposit amount and payable dues and a formula evolved to disburse the available funds to them, according to which payments were made on Wednesday.
Officials cross checked the investor’s accounts through a penny drop verification process and later made the payments on Wednesday evening. This is the second tranche of payments made and in an earlier round ₹19.62 crore was refunded to 6,800 investors.
There was a mixed response among investors on Wednesday. “While some are happy that they received at least something, most of them are unhappy over how meagre the settlement was. They are also anxious about the rest of their money,” Arif Pasha, president of IMA Investors’ Association, said.
The immovable assets of IMA and its directors are valued at ₹450 crore and are attached by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), which is also probing the IMA scandal. The Competent Authority has now decided to move court seeking permission to auction these immovable assets and disburse the money recovered to investors further. This tranche of refunds will be substantial, it is believed. However, with no clear timeline for this to happen, the long wait of IMA investors continues.
