Grace Road denies reports

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Grace Road Managing Director Daniel Kim at his office in Navua. Picture: FELIX CHAUDHARY

“Arrest me if I have done something wrong.”

That’s the response of the chairman of the Grace Road Group of Companies, to reports the company’s operations was under scrutiny.

Daniel Kim said everything they had acquired and all the businesses they have established were all done legally and by following all the mandatory processes.

He also dismissed claims that they had special ties with the FijiFirst government.

. “All the allegations made against us in the media are not true and the investigations being carried out by the Coalition Government will prove that,” he said.

“In terms of the $8 million loan from the Fiji Development Bank, the figure is wrong, we never took $8 million, we only took $5 million and this was invested in our farm and the state-of-the-art rice mill in Navua.

“And from 2014 until today we have invested more than $100 million into Fiji, none of our money goes offshore. “And then there is the allegation that we received 31 pieces of land because of our ‘special’ relationship with the FijiFirst government.

“I want to clearly say this so that everyone in Fiji understands, this allegation is based on bias — that we were close to the FijiFirst government and that we bribed them or had a special connection and received favours.

“We have never offered nor given bribes, we do not have any special relationship and we have never been given subsidies.”

Mr Kim said the Grace Road Group has so far acquired 31 pieces of property but none of them, barring one in Nadi, were in prime locations.

“The land we acquired were all idle and bushland and almost all are out in rural areas or suburbs.

“We acquired them legally by following all the processes and we reclaimed swampy land, developed rough terrain and turned them into retail outlets, service stations, restaurants and supermarkets — we have given Fijians living in rural and out of way places the opportunity to enjoy services that only those who live in the city used to have before.

“Is there something wrong with that?” On the comments made by Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua that the 400 members of the Grace Road church came in on special licences, Mr Kim said they were all investors in the parent company.

“We have a unique structure where every member of the Grace Road church is an investor in the Grace Road Group of Companies. “So we are here in Fiji as investors.”

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