Atlas Jewellery staff continue to work after promise of uninterrupted pay

Staff at Atlas Jewellery stores say they have been assured stability of operations and continued support with uninterrupted salary.

Most staff across various Atlas Jewellery stores contacted by 'Emirates 24|7' said they are not bothered and are not looking out for other jobs.

Staff at most outlets in the UAE said they are continuing to report to work as usual and hope the crisis would be resolved soon. "Almost all retail units in the UAE are functioning as usual. However we are yet to receive gold stocks,” a retailer at the Karama store told 'Emirates 24|7'.

Stores across the UAE have been operating without any stocks of gold ever since the arrest of the group Chairman M M Ramachandran last month following issuance of bad cheques to the value of Dh53 million.

Ramachandran, the chairman of Atlas Group, is currently in police custody and has already gone on record stating that all efforts are being made to repay pending dues at the earliest.

Staff said they have been told that all issues pertaining to the bad cheques and the liquidity crisis would be sorted soon. "We have been told to continue with our every day schedule as usual. Our salaries are being paid on time," said another Atlas staff in the UAE.

Meanwhile, operations at its other GCC outlets continue as normal. "We have sufficient stocks," said a staff at one of its stores in Qatar. "In fact Qatar currently has all the best performing Atlas outlets in the GCC," he said.

Company sources say talks are in advanced levels as all efforts are being made to repay the amount owed to banks and other suppliers.

"At present we cannot reveal anything. But efforts are continuing. There will soon be a breakthrough," maintained one of the sources, without providing additional details.

Atlas Group has decided to sell the two healthcare facilities in Oman as well as its stake in the GCC gold business, sources have revealed.

Atlas has also decided to sell its stake in all GCC outlets – in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait and Bahrain.

The company however has decided not to sell off any of its assets in India. Atlas group is a public listed company at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, according to media reports Indira Ramachandran, wife of Atlas Jewellery founder M M Ramachandran, in a letter circulated at the company's board meeting earlier this month clarified that the crisis caused in the UAE following the arrest do not have any bearing on their Indian entities including Atlas Jewellery India Ltd.

Indira, who is also a director of the company has informed the board that Atlas Jewellery India is a company without any structured or institutional borrowings.

The gold and jewellery retailer has allegedly defaulted on loans worth about Dh500 million. Dubai Police had earlier said that the police complaints were lodged for bad cheques worth Dh53 million. A UAE based financial consultancy is currently negotiating with the lenders on the group's behalf.

At least fifteen banks including India's Bank of Baroda have been affected.

Media reports quoting sources say at least three Indian banks have a total exposure of close to 90 million dirhams towards Atlas Jewellery.

While the Bank of Baroda has given Dh50 million, IDBI Bank has issued a loan of Dh25-30 million and State Bank of India another Dh 11 million.

Meanwhile action is being initiated on bankers involved in issuing loans to Atlas Jewellery. According to the Indian Express, the government has already transferred K Venkata Rama Moorthy, who used to be the executive director (ED) at Bank of Baroda to a relatively smaller bank. The report also points out that more heads are likely to roll.

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