Indian real-estate developer Krrish Group released a statement yesterday reiterating its commitment to transparency, denying any wrong-doing in the acquisition of land for its US$ 650 million mixed development.

“From the very first MOU, we made it clear that Krrish would require a staggered payment plan for land as we have commitments to meet in the on-going several multi-billion dollars worth of property development activities in India”.

“We have been making payments according to the schedule agreed and so far Rs. 4,250 million has been paid to the UDA which constitutes 85 per cent of total payments,” Krrish Chairman Amit Katyal stated.

“We are disheartened by the constant adverse publicity initiated by certain parties over this project without clarifying facts with us or the relevant authorities,” he added.

Katyal warned that negative publicity generated against the Krrish project through recent reports was adversely impacting investor sentiment in relation to Sri Lanka.

“Constant efforts to highlight that there is a payment delay and other unfounded controversies around the project could discourage not only us but also many other potential investors who were looking positively at Sri Lanka.

This has shaken confidence of the investors with whom we were in discussions for the financial closure,” Katyal asserted.

Reaffir ming all allegations leveled against Krrish as false, he urged stakeholders to appreciate the positive contributions that the Krrish development would bring to Sri Lanka in terms of foreign direct investment, employment generation and overall economic contribution.

“Krrish has dealt with the Sri Lankan government and its officials in an extremely transparent manner and all transactions have been above board. We categorically deny any allegations to the contrary,” Katyal reiterated.

Reports of improprieties with regards to the Krrish Group surfaced in media reports recently, which highlighted an alleged Rs. 400 million pay-off to an official holding top positions in the public and private sector.

The alleged fraud was reported to have triggered separate investigations by the CID and Finance Ministry.

Meanwhile, according to newspaper reports, the deadline for payments from Krrish, which previously stood at July 15 has since been extended to July 31.