Royal Twinkle Star Club & Citrus Check Inns Refund Website Launched by Kurhekar Committee
Moneylife Digital Team 02 July 2025
A committee headed by retired district judge AP Kurhekar has launched a special website to facilitate refunds to the investors of Royal Twinkle Star Club Ltd and Citrus Check Inns Ltd who are eligible for a refund.
 
In a release, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) says following orders from the Supreme Court, the committee has been constituted for refunding money to eligible investors of the two Ponzi schemes. The designed portal to facilitate the refund process is https://www.citrusroyalrefund.com.
 
"The entire process will be online through the portal only. The investors are requested to keep their documents ready and shall register their claim on the portal. Further detailed instructions will be available on the portal," SEBI says.
 
According to the apex court orders, the refund has to be made to the small investors, to whom, after adjustment of the commission, or a refund of an amount not exceeding Rs5,000 towards the actual principal amount is due. For example, if the investment is Rs7,500 and the investor has already received Rs2,500 by way of commission or refund, then he will get Rs2,500 only.
 
Furthermore, in case of multiple certificates, all certificates of the investor of both companies, i.e., Citrus Check Inn and Royal Twinkle Star Club, will be clubbed together for examining his eligibility for refund.
 
Therefore, the investors who are in the slab of Rs7,500, including Citrus Check Inn Ltd and Royal Twinkle Star Club, together should submit their claim only in this process.
 
"At present, the refund will be paid only to the original investors. In case the original investor is not alive in that event, there will be a separate process to verify the nominee or legal representative, subject to the direction of the Supreme Court," says the information posted on the designated portal.
 
Last month, SEBI imposed a penalty of Rs50 lakh on Royal Twinkle Star Club Pvt Ltd (RTSCPL) (noticee 1) and its key officials, Omprakash Basantlal Goenka (noticee 2), Prakash Ganpat Utekar (noticee 3), Venkatraman Natrajan (noticee 4), and Narayan Shivram Kotnis (noticee 5) for non-compliance with earlier directions prohibiting collection of investor funds. The penalty is to be paid jointly and severally by all five notices.
 
In an order, Amit Kapoor, adjudicating officer (AO) of SEBI, says that "I note that in a similar matter, noticees 2 to 5 were earlier penalised in December 2018 by SEBI and since they did not prefer any appeal in the said matter and also failed to make the payment, recovery proceedings were initiated and are still in process. Since the violations in the instant matter are similar in nature, I am inclined to consider the quantum of penalty on similar lines." (Read: SEBI Slaps Rs50 Lakh Penalty on Royal Twinkle Star Club and Key Officials for Violating Investor Fund Collection Order
 
SEBI’s scrutiny of RTSCPL was triggered by an earlier order dated 7 March 2014, issued by its whole-time member (WTM), which barred the company from accepting any further investments from investors under existing or new schemes. 
 
However, a detailed examination of RTSCPL’s bank accounts revealed that the company continued to collect funds well beyond the order’s issuance. The deposits included cash and bank transfers, indicating clear non-compliance with SEBI’s directive.
 
In 2014, SEBI had barred Royal Twinkle Star Club and its directors from collecting money from investors. The company continues to collect money using a new name, Citrus Check Inn. In March that year, Moneylife had written to SEBI about it. (Read: MONEYLIFE IMPACT: SEBI bars Royal Twinkle Star Club from collecting money)
 
Earlier in August 2015, the market regulator had directed Royal Twinkle Star Club Ltd (RTSC) and its four directors to refund within three months, the money collected from investors under its holiday package plans. The markets regulator also refused to lift a ban on Citrus Check Inns (new avatar of RTSC) and its directors in a 'collective investment scheme' (CIS) case, promising returns on 'holiday plans'. (Read: Royal Twinkle Star Club, directors asked to wind up ‘holiday’ investment schemes)
 
In January 2020, SEBI issued a notice to auction properties of Royal Twinkle Star Club and Citrus Check Inns at Alappuzha, Lower Parel, Bengaluru and Lonavala. Both Royal Twinkle Star Club and Citrus Check Inns were involved in an alleged Ponzi scam worth Rs7,500 crore (Read: Royal Twinkle Star Club & Citrus Check Inns: SEBI Issues Notice to Auction Properties at Alappuzha, Lower Parel, Bengaluru and Lonavala)
Comments
yogeshpadave1
1 day ago
What is the procedure if refund amount is more than Rs 5000
shindemansi1979
4 days ago
Your portal not expected cirtificate no. What to do?
meenakshi.sachdev1
4 days ago
This link is not working. Can someone care to check?
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