Some 245 Irish investors who have bought a total of 294 apartments in two off-plan developments near Delhi in India through a Dublin-based investment company Kuvera in the last two years are concerned that they have not been completed.
The real estate investors, who have paid between €34,000 and €42,000 per unit on the Orchard View and Mountain View developments, are trying to get a refund but they are not able to find out what has happened to their money.
Kuvera, which is the name of the Hindu god of wealth, is run by former stockbroker Kieran Murphy. The investors say that when they contacted Kuvera's Dublin offices they were given a statement which said that they had contracted directly with the local Indian developer, VG Buildtech, when purchasing their properties.
'At no time has there been any contractual relationship between the investors and Kuvera (Irl) Ltd,' the statement said. It said that that they should contact Kuvera Properties (India) Ltd as it is the management company based in India to oversee the progress of the development and the financing of the development.
'While in-depth queries have been raised by Kuvera (Irl) Ltd, the required information and clarifications have not been either forthcoming or satisfactory from VG Buildtech or Kuvera Properties India,' the statement continued.
The company also said that it has engaged the New Delhi-based law firm Fox Mandal Little to investigate if there has been any mismanagement of funds and to establish the 'current legal and financial status of the developments'.
But investors, who have put €8.9 million into the developments, are not satisfied. Kieran Murphy, who co-owns Kuvera Ireland with his wife Suzanne Kelly, also has a majority shareholding of 55% in Kuvera India. It, in turn, owns 50% of VG Buildtech. They have now consulted an Irish solicitor, Anthony Joyce. They also plan to engage a lawyer in India.
