Senior former employees of CapitaLand Group Pte allegedly accepted bribes from a longtime contractor in India, according to court filings in Singapore, Bloomberg reported.
The accusations surfaced in a civil lawsuit brought by Singapore-based builder Lee Kim Tah Pte against its former director, Edmund Cheah, who oversaw the company’s India investments. Although CapitaLand is not a party to the case, both sides referenced the property group in court documents, which allege that corrupt payments were linked to CapitaLand’s International Tech Park Pune project.
According to the filings, some CapitaLand staff in India received improper payments as far back as 2019, with allegations of kickbacks tied to contract approvals and bill processing. People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that one former employee demanded as much as 9 million rupees ($108,000) and sought additional payments amounting to 1% of a contract’s value.
CapitaLand confirmed to Bloomberg News that it became aware of the misconduct in 2023, investigated the matter, and reported it to Indian authorities. The implicated staff are no longer employed by the company. “CapitaLand is fully committed to conducting business with the highest ethical standards and integrity and has a zero-tolerance policy towards unethical conduct,” a spokesperson said.
The revelations highlight the risks global property developers face in fast-growing but complex markets such as India. CapitaLand, whose largest shareholder is Singapore’s state investor Temasek Holdings Pte, has built a substantial India portfolio worth more than S$8 billion ($6.2 billion) across business parks, logistics hubs, and data centers, with plans to nearly double that by 2028.
The Pune technology park, spanning 16.5 acres with tenants including Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Bharti Airtel, cost about 17.5 billion rupees ($201 million) to develop. It was constructed by L&W Construction Pvt, a CapitaLand contractor and subsidiary of a joint venture between Lee Kim Tah and Woh Hup Holdings Pte.
Lee Kim Tah’s lawsuit accuses Cheah of breaching fiduciary duties and seeks to recover more than S$2.1 million in alleged improper payments. Cheah has denied wrongdoing, arguing he acted in the best interests of the company.
The case also refers to alleged bribery involving Indian officials and further financial mismanagement at L&W. Several of the contractor’s employees were arrested in Pune in 2023 for suspected fund misappropriation.
CapitaLand has since halted new contracts with L&W, though the builder continues work on two projects in India nearing completion, according to people familiar with the matter.
