The Krrish Case: A Decade-Long Investigation
What began as an inquiry into a real estate deal in Colombo Fort has evolved into one of Sri Lanka’s most complex financial investigations, spanning multiple countries and involving millions in questionable payments. The obscure web of payments suggests the misappropriation of millions of euros of government funds by private contractors.
How It Started
In 2015, the Financial Crimes Investigation Division opened an investigation following a complaint about the lease of land at Colombo Fort to Krrish Transworks Colombo, a subsidiary of an Indian real estate company. The government had leased 4.3 acres for a 99-year term for Rs. 5 billion, granting the developer significant tax concessions for a planned mixed-use development complex with four towers.
The project faced many delays from the start. While most payments were made on time, the final payment of Rs. 640 million was delayed by nearly two years, eventually ballooning to Rs. 800 million due to interest penalties.
The Rugby Sponsorship
The investigation took an unexpected turn when authorities discovered that Krrish had transferred Rs. 70 million to businessman Nimal Hemasiri Perera, who had transferred the funds to Namal Rajapaksa, supposedly to sponsor a rugby tournament and develop the sport in Sri Lanka. Namal Rajapaksa, son of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was arrested in July 2016 on charges that this money had been misappropriated for personal use.
Perera told investigators he had given the funds to Rajapaksa in two cash instalments of Rs. 35 million each. Rajapaksa maintained he had handed the money to a finance committee for the Super Sevens Rugby Tournament. However, investigators found no evidence that the rugby association ever received these funds.
Following the Money Trail
When investigators examined Perera’s bank accounts, they found something unexpected. In 2012, his HSBC account received Rs. 50 million from Krrish. That same year, he purchased property at Gower Street for Rs. 188 million, paying a businessman named Kishin Ramachand Butani. The FCID determined that Rs. 70 million of this purchase originated with Krrish, while the remaining Rs. 107 million originated with a Singapore-based company, Sabre Vision Holdings.
Here, the case widened considerably. Sabre Vision Holdings had received over 4.3 million euros and more than half a million US dollars from three foreign companies between August and October 2012. These companies had contracts with the Sri Lankan government: EN-Projects and Aspen Medical were involved in building general hospitals in Hambantota and Nuwara Eliya, contracts worth 46 million and 39 million euros, respectively.
When asked about these payments, Perera initially told police the money came from an Italian businessman he had met while travelling, whom he could not identify or contact. Documents later revealed that Perera himself was the owner of Sabre Vision Holdings, directly benefitting from the ill-documented payments.
The Hospital Connection
EN-Projects had signed an agreement in 2013 with Sabre Vision Holdings for 3 million euros in consultancy support for the Beliatta Regional Hospital. Investigators noted that the two people who supposedly signed this agreement in Colombo were not even in Sri Lanka at the time.
The Hambantota and Nuwara Eliya hospital projects dragged on for nearly a decade, with ongoing issues regarding design, construction, and equipment delivery.
Where the Case Stands
In January 2025, the Attorney General filed indictments before the Colombo High Court, alleging the misappropriation of Rs. 70 million provided by Krrish for rugby development. The case has been moving through the courts, with the High Court ordering the original case report from the Fort Magistrate’s Court to be summoned.
In September 2025, the matter was scheduled for a pre-trial conference in December 2025. Meanwhile, the Krrish Tower project itself remains incomplete. According to the Urban Development Authority, no legal action could have been taken against its stalled development until the project duration expired in 2024. No case has been filed regarding the payments made by government contractors EN-Projects and Aspen Medical to Sabre Vision.
A decade after the initial complaint, the stalled Krrish Tower project took a new turn in January 2026 when a liquidator invited bids for the controversial mixed-use development. The total project value was estimated at $712 million, yet only $85 million worth of work had been completed to date, in stark contrast to the original land cost of $17 million.
On the legal front, the Colombo High Court scheduled a hearing on 2nd April 2026 concerning the case against MP Namal Rajapaksa over the Krrish deal. This date marked more than nine years since his initial arrest related to the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 70 million in rugby sponsorship funds. Compounding the situation, there has yet to be any legal action taken regarding the payments made by government contractors EN-Projects and Aspen Medical to Sabre Vision Holdings, leaving the intricate web of transactions that lie at the heart of the investigation still unresolved.
What started as a question about a land lease has revealed a web of transactions spanning multiple countries, raising questions about payments between private companies and public officials during the construction of government hospitals. The investigation continues, more than a decade after the initial complaint was filed.
For those interested in exploring the case further, detailed reports and primary sources are linked below.
References
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/multi-million-dollar-krrish-deal-haunts-namal/
https://www.dailymirror.lk/print/business-news/krrish-cleared-to-go-ahead-boi-chief/273-71315
https://www.dailynews.lk/2016/07/11/local/87140
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/namal-released-on-bail-but-no-foreign-travel/
http://www.adaderana.lk/news/118638/court-sets-date-to-hear-namal-rajapaksas-case-over-krrish-deal
https://www.ft.lk/front-page/Liquidator-seeks-buyer-for-Krrish-Building-mixed-use-project/44-787116
https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-planning-to-re-start-krrish-tower-stalled-eyesores-257111/
Last updated – March 2026