This release is to bring interested parties up to date and to inform investors, customers, and business associates on the situation resulting from the ongoing false media and Internet campaign of cyberbullying & vandalism directed against Royal Indian Raj International Corporation®, (RIRIC), and its officers and employees over the past number of years regarding its Urban Infrastructure and Housing Township projects in Bangalore, India. The above, in Anti-Bullying Day Feb 27 conjunction with the sudden and unexpected implementation of the government’s Bangalore land freeze (see background information) created a perfect storm affecting the operations of the company.
Beginning in early 2008 the former VP of Communications in North America after being dismissed by the company and his decision to abandon binding arbitration hearings agreed to by himself and the company began posting to a defamatory blog site. A U.S. judge ruled that he take down the site and to cease-and-desist. In contravention of the American court order, he launched an Internet
liable misinformation campaign illegally accessing and utilizing stolen confidential corporate information and began sending misinformative emails to thousands of customers and contacts.
He also began an active email/social media campaign sending misinformation to the worldwide public including specifically RIRIC alliance partners, shareholders, and condo buyers exploiting the lack of understanding of Indian Realty Practices and attacking the project(s), the company Chairman and his family members, and corporate executives with allegations of fraud, misappropriation of funds, and claiming that no project(s) existed and no land was owned, etc.
He then began using traffic directed to his rumor website in an effort to create and guide exasperated actions from a panicked and misguided audience in an attempt to destroy RIRIC operations and create vexatious legal actions. Encouraging and publicizing defamatory statements on Internet-based media including blogs, forums, websites, and social networking sites with comments from the very same people that he had inflamed. While many Internet users believe that they are free to say and do as they like while on the Internet, this is untrue as the same defamation laws and regulations stand for online defamation as they do in any form of media.
He took his vendetta further by contacting the local media. Commencing in April 2008 a Vancouver newspaper reporter took the bait and began writing without interviewing the company, a series of highly sensational “expose style articles” denigrating RIRIC’s business acumen and personal and corporate ethics. Despite having little to no understanding of Indian Reality or Land Practices his false light reporting and allegations reached the point of accusing the company and specific personnel of impropriety.
This, as well as the ongoing pre-mediated digital assassination campaign understandably caused enormous concern with RIRIC’s investors and clients whose angst resulted in an investigation by various North American regulators (all of which felt there was no justification for action), and the BC Securities Commission, which subsequently dismissed and closed its file on the matter. In May 2010 after an exhaustive review, BCSC lead investigator David Martin determined there were no grounds for prosecution. “At the end of that process, we concluded that there was insufficient evidence to sustain allegations,” said Bob Abrams, BCSC Investigations Manager.
Management believes that the reporter was, in part, influenced in the editorial approach he took in writing about RIRIC, both through selective input from a few disgruntled local employees, and a documented personal jaundiced view of certain types of entrepreneurs in general.
This in addition to exhibiting an alarming lack of knowledge or naivety of the risk factors of doing business in India and Indian Realty and Township practices which are substantially different from generally accepted North American real estate practices.
So that there is no misunderstanding management wishes it to be known that they also reached out to this reporter, by offering to meet with him, open the company’s books, and allow him to review all confidential pertinent documents and agreements from the various levels of the Indian government and agencies as well as inter-corporate agreements. Unfortunately, for reasons known only to the reporter he refused stating, “I have already made up my mind… and I’m going to make it worse.”
Management believes that unprofessional methodology and treatment of the company, as well as the aforementioned Internet digital assassination campaign immensely, compounded the shockingly unexpected Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA Land freeze of over 3500 sq km. in Bangalore, India which froze all permits and permissions in various stages of processing of over 460 projects in the region. Effectively halting investments of over 2B USD and blocking finance of developments and customer sales in the region and compromising the company’s ability to provide service and expertise to its stakeholders.
Globally organized real estate is currently valued at about $31 trillion (US$). The largest portion of this total (41%) is located in Europe, 33% in the Americas, and 26% in the Asia Pacific region. As the market continues to grow capital is flowing into real estate markets worldwide, with an ever-growing portion moving from the more mature to emerging markets like China and India.
Although India like China is striving to become more “modern,” it should be noted that the Indian Real Estate sector recently opened to Foreign Participation in 2004 is unique from that of other Indian industries in that it’s in its corporate infancy, especially as compared to North American and western European real estate standards and practices. In India, the real estate “playing field” is unique to that country.
Debt markets are emerging as laws to facilitate “securitized” lending are developed, although there is as yet no formal Indian Real Estate Regulator. Methods that would not be acceptable or tolerated in North America are considered as normal business practices thus it takes a company like RIRIC that is well versed in the nuances of doing business there to operate successfully. In India traditional real estate construction financing primarily comes from pre-sales where the consumer pays for the product in advance.
The developer then utilizes the monies received to build the product and deliver it to the consumer. Tangled regulatory infrastructure has exacerbated the construction of residential projects in all of India and this is especially apparent in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, the top three real estate markets that face massive completion delays. Around 45% of all projects that were launched pre-2008 in these three markets are still under construction, says a report by real estate research firm PropEquity.
As could be expected with the growing sophistication of the Indian consumer there has been increasing demands on the Central Government, specifically the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation to introduce modernized regulations for the real estate sector. To this end, the Ministry has produced a draft version (revised) of the Real Estate (Regulatory & Development) Act, 2011. The bill is envisaged to act as an interface between the end-user and the developer. As with the progress of most bills of this type, it needs further debate and deliberations before being enacted and the consumers need to be made aware of this.
Any reasonable person should consider that those indicated and those continuing the Internet character assassination attacks and cyber-bullying, to be exhibiting a profound lack of Indian Real Estate knowledge, and to have transcended the boundaries of “free speech” to the point of entering into the realm of libelous defamation by their groundless and provocative impugning the character and reputation of both the company and management. Management believes that that the company and its customers, let alone themselves have suffered substantial economic loss as well as personal character defamation and as such is consulting its lawyers with instructions to vigorously pursue its options – either civil and/or criminal.
Management strongly recommends that those concerned or interested in Royal Indian Raj International Corporation®, (RIRIC), RIRIC’s proposed Indian Townships including the inaugural Royal Garden City, Royal Garden Villas and Resorts project to be critically proactive in their approach to information obtained on the Internet. If in doubt please contact the company.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
About: Royal Indian Raj International Corporation®
(RIRIC), incorporated in Nevada, USA, in March 1999 with offices in Vancouver, London, and Bangalore, India, maintains a country-specific, 5-sector heavy infrastructure orientation, focused on the free world’s largest emerging market, India. The company’s goal is to develop the New India by modernizing housing and businesses and realizing self-sustaining cities of the future. RIRIC implements leading-edge technologies and products in strategic alliance with world-class international corporations. Partnered with these international leaders in their respective fields, RIRIC is focused on five of India’s priority infrastructure sectors using a vertically integrated business strategy: Urban Infrastructure & Housing, Road Building & Recycling, Broadband Communications & IT Networks, eCommerce/IT & Education Applications, and Broadcast Content, Entertainment & Theme Parks.
Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority
(BMRDA), The autonomous body was created by the Government of Karnataka under the BMRDA Act of 1985 for the purpose of planning, coordinating, and supervising the proper and orderly development of the areas within the Bangalore Metropolitan Region (BMR). On inception, the BMRDA placed a blanket freeze on all real estate development in the proscribed area effectively stalling RIRIC’s proposed Township Projects in Bangalore, India. The land freeze encompassed over 3500 sq km. and halted over 460 development companies’ projects in the region. Many of which have subsequently gone out of business.
45% of residential projects launched before 2008 in NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore is delayed: PropEquity
Residential projects in the top three real estate markets in India are facing massive execution delays. Around 45% of all projects that were launched pre 2008 in these three markets are still under construction, says a report by real estate research firm PropEquity. Read Source
Nearly 12 million new housing demand estimated by 2016: Cushman & Wakefield
NEW DELHI: A fresh demand for nearly 12 million housing units is expected to be generated over the next five years across the country, global property consultant Cushman and Wakefield said in a report. About 20 percent of this additional demand would be in the top eight cities of the country.”The total new demand that could be generated for residential dwellings in the period 2012-16 will be 11.8 million units across India. Of the total additional demand, the top 8 cities will be constituting 18 percent or 2.1 million units across categories,” Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) said in a report.