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Firoz Merchant honoured

Dubai - Over 300 of the region's most successful CEOs gathered together as the winners were announced.

 In a recognition of his tireless work to help incarcerated prisoners in the UAE, founder and chairman of Pure Gold Jewellers Firoz Merchant was conferred the Philanthropist of the Year award at the Indian CEO Awards held at Conrad Hotel Dubai.
Over 300 of the region's most successful CEOs gathered together as the winners were announced. The evening was hosted by the BBC broadcaster and former Economist editor Andrew Neil. This year's guest of honour was T.P. Seetharam, Ambassador of India to the UAE.
Edward Attwood, Group Editor, ITP Executive Publishing, said: "Our winner, Mr Merchant who truly deserves one of the biggest accolades of the evening, may be one of the prominent and wealthiest of the Indian community's many jewellery retailers in the Gulf, but over the past few years he has been making headlines for very different reasons."
He was referring to the unique programme of "Forgotten Society" initiated by Merchant in 2011 to help prisoners in the UAE who have been jailed because of their inability to pay back debts after falling prey to unfortunate circumstances. Under this initiative Pure Gold Jewellers has till date settled the debts or paid for air tickets of over 5,500 prisoners. The company has spent $3 million (approximately Dh10 million) for the programme.