A rare 1918 US postage stamp, known as the “Inverted Jenny,” has sold for a record-breaking $2 million at an auction in New York City. The stamp, which features a blue airplane printed upside down on a red and white background, is one of only 100 that were ever printed. It was originally sold for 24 cents, BBC reported.

The stamp was purchased by Charles Hack, a 76-year-old stamp collector from New York. Mr Hack said he plans to display the stamp in his private collection.

Mr Hack told the Washington Post that he had been eyeing the coveted stamp since he was a child, calling it the “holy grail of postage”.

The previous record for the most expensive single US stamp sold was $1.9 million, which was paid for a block of four Inverted Jennys in 2016.

The Inverted Jenny is one of the most famous stamps in the world. It has been featured in numerous stamp-collecting magazines and books, and it has even appeared on an episode of the popular animated sitcom The Simpsons.

The stamp’s error makes it one of the most valuable stamps in the world. The airplane was printed upside down because the plate that was used to print the stamp was accidentally reversed.

The Inverted Jenny is a popular collectable among stamp collectors around the world. It is a symbol of American history and innovation, and it is a reminder of the importance of attention to detail.

The undistributed funds totalling over Rs 25,000 crore lying with the capital markets regulator Sebi’s account have come back into focus after the demise of Sahara Group’s chief Subrata Roy.

Roy passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday night at the age of 75 after battling a prolonged illness.

He faced multiple regulatory and legal battles in connection with his group firms that were accused of circumventing regulations with Ponzi schemes, allegations his group always denied.

In 2011, capital markets regulator Sebi ordered two Sahara Group firms — Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIREL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL) — to refund the money raised from nearly 3 crore investors through certain bonds known as Optionally Fully Convertible Bonds (OFCDs).

This order came after the regulator ruled that the funds were raised by the two firms in violation of its rules and regulations.

After a long process of appeals and cross-appeals, the Supreme Court on August 31, 2012 upheld Sebi’s directions asking the two firms to refund the money collected from investors with 15 per cent interest.

Sahara was eventually asked to deposit an estimated Rs 24,000 crore with Sebi for further refund to investors, though the group has been maintaining that it had already refunded more than 95 per cent of investors directly.

According to the capital markets regulator’s latest annual report, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued Rs 138.07 crore in refunds over 11 years to investors of two Sahara Group firms.

Meanwhile, the amount deposited in specially-opened bank accounts for the repayment has risen to more than Rs 25,000 crore.

In the absence of claims from a majority of the bondholders of the two Sahara companies, the total amount refunded by Sebi inched up by just about Rs 7 lakh during the last fiscal 2022-23, while the balance in Sebi-Sahara refund accounts rose by Rs 1,087 crore during the year.

Going by the annual report, Sebi received 19,650 applications involving 53,687 accounts as of March 31, 2023. Of these, “refunds have been made concerning 17,526 applications involving 48,326 accounts for an aggregate amount of Rs 138.07 crore, including the interest amount of Rs 67.98 crore.” The remaining applications were closed due to their records not being traceable in the data provided by two Sahara Group firms.

In its previous update, Sebi had put the total amount refunded by it as of March 31, 2022, at Rs 138 crore concerning 17,526 applications.

Further, Sebi said under various orders passed by the Supreme Court and the attachment orders passed by the regulator, an aggregate amount of Rs 15,646.68 crore has been recovered by it as of March 31, 2023.

This amount along with the accrued interest after due refunds to the eligible bondholders was deposited in nationalised banks in terms of the judgment dated August 31, 2012, of the Supreme Court.

As of March 31, 2023, the total amount deposited in nationalised banks is around Rs 25,163 crore,” Sebi stated.

This amount stood at Rs 24,076 crore, Rs 23,191 crore, and Rs 21,770.70 crore as of March 31, 2022, March 31, 2021, and March 31, 2020, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Centre in August started the process to refund Rs 5,000 crore of depositors whose funds are struck in four cooperative societies of Sahara Group.

Before this, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched the ‘CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal’ in July to facilitate the return of the money to investors. Around 18 lakh depositors have been registered on the portal.

In March, the government announced that the money would be returned to 10 crore investors of the four cooperative societies within 9 months.

The announcement followed a Supreme Court order directing the transfer of Rs 5,000 crore from the Sahara-Sebi refund account to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS). 

A man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson, who died during a “freak accident” during a match. The 29-year-old suffered a slashed neck during the second period of the Challenge Cup game at Sheffield Steelers’ Utilita Arena on October 28. The Nottingham Panthers player was taken to hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. The South Yorkshire Police arrested the suspect on Tuesday, more than a fortnight after the incident.

“Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive enquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances,” Detective Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said in a release posted on the police website.

“We have been speaking to highly specialised experts in their field to assist in our enquiries and continue to work closely with the health and safety department at Sheffield City Council, which is supporting our ongoing investigation,” she is further quoted as saying.

The police detective also urged people to refrain from “comment and speculation which could hinder” the investigation.

The Panthers were playing against the Sheffield Steelers when the collision took place in the 35th minute of the game.

The death of Mr Johnson, who was from Minnesota in the US, sparked an outpouring of grief across the world.

More than 8,000 fans observed a moment of silence in tribute to him before the Steelers’ 2-1 win against Coventry Blaze.

Mr Johnson played for Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League before spending the 2020-21 season in Sweden with the Malmo Redhawks.

He went on to play in Canada for the Ontario Reign and in Germany for the Augsburger Panther before agreeing to join Nottingham for the 2023-24 campaign.