Pure Gold Jewellers chairman Firoz Merchant, the Indian businessman and philanthropist, is donating a total of $130,790 (Dhs 480,000) a year to pay for return tickets of ‘poor’ expatriate prisoners.
Merchant has signed a memorandum of understanding with the UAE’s Faraj Fund, allowing the latter to decide which prisoners entitled for the air ticket. The Fund was established in 2009 by the UAE Ministry of Social Affairs to give priority assistance to indigent inmates and their families.
“We will donate Dhs 40,000 ($10,899) every month to the fund as part of the ‘Year of Giving’ and this will help pay for air tickets of released prisoners, irrespective of their nationality or religion,” said a spokesperson for Pure Gold.
Merchant has said in the past ‘more than willing’ to spend over the pledged $1 million (Dhs 3.67m) to free expats who are in UAE jails over debts owed. Under the humanitarian initiative, which he started in 2008, Merchant has donated over $4m (Dhs 14.68m) to date.