The Kasagala Group of Companies, which has rapidly expanded from agriculture into retail supermarkets and public investment schemes, is facing intense regulatory scrutiny following allegations that it has been operating an unauthorized public investment business while making misleading claims about Central Bank oversight.
At the centre of the controversy is Kasagala Green Plantation (Private) Limited, which has marketed itself as a modern integrated agribusiness engaged in cultivating high-value crops including TJC mangoes, cinnamon, black pepper and bell pepper across plantations in Welimada and Kegalle. The company also operates the Kasagala Green Super retail chain, exports agricultural products and promotes what it describes as a “crowdfunded agriculture” investment model.
However, Sri Lanka’s financial regulator has questioned whether the company’s investment operations amount to an illegal deposit-taking business.
The controversy escalated after Kasagala Director Malwattage Ranjith Nandana Pieris stated during an ITN television programme on June 8, 2026, that the company operated under Central Bank regulation and submitted compliance reports every six months.
Only four days later, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) issued a strongly worded public statement rejecting those claims as “factually incorrect, misleading and devoid of any legal basis.” The regulator warned that such representations could seriously mislead members of the public into believing the company enjoyed regulatory approval when no such authorization existed.
The CBSL has since commenced an investigation under the Finance Business Act No. 42 of 2011 to determine whether Kasagala has been illegally accepting public deposits without the licence required to conduct finance business in Sri Lanka.
Kasagala has rejected the allegations, maintaining that it is a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 and that its investment model is based on forward crop agreements and agricultural asset sales rather than financial deposits. Company representatives argue that investors are financing plantations rather than depositing money with a finance company.
The regulator, however, appears to be examining the economic substance of the transactions rather than their contractual description. According to the CBSL, where members of the public contribute funds in return for fixed cash repayments over predetermined periods, such arrangements may constitute deposit-taking regardless of the terminology used.
The company’s investment packages reportedly accept public contributions from as little as Rs.100,000, promising fixed monthly returns over investment periods ranging from six months to three years, together with repayment of the original capital upon maturity.
While Kasagala states that these returns are supported by tangible agricultural assets including plantations and crops, regulators are reportedly examining whether the promised payouts are genuinely generated through farming operations or depend substantially on continuous inflows from new investors. Such a funding structure, if established through investigation, would resemble the characteristics commonly associated with unauthorized investment schemes rather than sustainable agricultural profits.
Meanwhile, Kasagala has continued expanding its commercial footprint through supermarkets in Kaduwela, Athurugiriya, Angoda, Ganemulla, Matale, Gampola and Narammala. Although the company promotes a vertically integrated farm-to-market business model, available retail inventories indicate that, alongside produce from its own plantations, the supermarkets primarily stock conventional third-party grocery items, household products, cosmetics, frozen foods and dairy products similar to those found in ordinary supermarkets.
Whether this retail presence represents a commercially viable agribusiness or merely supports investor confidence remains one of several questions that investigators are expected to examine.
The outcome of the Central Bank investigation is likely to have significant implications, not only for Kasagala but also for Sri Lanka’s rapidly expanding alternative investment sector. Until the inquiry concludes, the CBSL has urged the public to exercise extreme caution before investing money in entities that are not licensed or regulated to accept public funds.
By a Special Correspondent