Mike Kumari, the head of the National Prosecuting Authority’s corruption unit, said that while the allegations are “alarming” and “disturbing” he cannot speculate as to whether any crimes that might arise will be committed.

“It is something that can certainly create concern amongst our public,” he said.

In an interview with CNN, Kumar was unequivocal. He said, “the problem is not in corruption, the problem is that people are greedy, and for them their greed is very bad.”

Kumar also called the allegations against him “the biggest scandal” they had ever seen.

He denied any conflict of interest, saying his job on the tribunal is to put it “right.”

“That’s why I’m here at the moment. I’m the guy in charge. I’m not trying to make a profit off of things,” it was reported.

Somnath Bharti, a spokesperson for the government, said that the ministry would be looking into Kumar’s work.

However, several experts, including a senior lawyer and a former Supreme Court judge, argued that the corruption allegations were unfounded.

They said the investigations should focus on how much of an impact Gupta-Gupta’s deals would have over time and to how many people it affected.

Kumar’s critics argue that in a democracy, the best way to get to the truth would be to have an impartial tribunal, as the government should be providing.

“We have to trust a fair investigation,” said Nana Raza, a Mumbai-based human rights lawyer. “We do not want a government that’s corrupt.”

In his interview with CNN, Kumar repeatedly called Gupta-Gupta an employee of the government, but denied knowing anything about Gupta and his companies’ business dealings.

“When I was a judge, I learned from people in the judiciary and I learned from lawyers that there are things they did or did not do. That’s not important,” he said. “It is not good news [that] I have a huge reputation and all of a sudden people are coming out saying that these are lies, that there are things and they are wrong – they are not true. Why?”

Gupta and Gupta-Gupta founded Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (SPI), a pharmaceutical firm that runs the country’s largest blood donation programme.

SPI acquired South African pharmaceutical company