# Causevest Awards Altruism: Entrepreneurs Series UAE Firoz Merchant, Giving People a Second Chance

**URL:** <https://discourse.causevest.io/t/causevest-awards-altruism-entrepreneurs-series-uae-firoz-merchant-giving-people-a-second-chance/807>\
**Category:** Disruptive Altruism\
**Created:** [October 14, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://discourse.causevest.io/t/causevest-awards-altruism-entrepreneurs-series-uae-firoz-merchant-giving-people-a-second-chance/807 "2026-10-14T15:58:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MrO](https://discourse.causevest.io/user_avatar/discourse.causevest.io/mro/32/13_2.png) [@MrO](https://discourse.causevest.io/u/MrO)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2026, 3:58pm UTC](https://discourse.causevest.io/t/causevest-awards-altruism-entrepreneurs-series-uae-firoz-merchant-giving-people-a-second-chance/807/1 "2026-10-14T15:58:05Z")

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A cause that i love is covering petty fees and fines for others something we have done at the Causevest Network but seeing Firoz take it to another level is inspiring.Firoz Merchant has paid to get more than 20,000 debtors people out of prison. People who lost a job, bounced a cheque, missed a visa renewal(a friend of mine recently) and ended up in a UAE jail with no way to pay and no ticket home. Since 2008 he has spent about AED 25 million . That is the story Causevest wants to highlight, and why he will be nominated for our Altruistic Entrepreneur award.

> **[UAE businessman donates Dh1 million to help 900 prisoners ahead of Ramadan](https://gulfnews.com/uae/ramadan/uae-businessman-donates-dh1-million-to-help-900-prisoners-ahead-of-ramadan-1.101180475)**
>
> Firoz Merchant pledges Dh25m for prisoners as part of ‘The Forgotten Society’ initiative

**From the chawls of Mumbai**

Merchant was 1 of 9 children. His father was a struggling property broker, and Merchant left school at 11 to work in the family business. He arrived in Dubai in 1989 with no capital and started trading gold bars in Murshid Bazaar with 2 employees. The first Pure Gold retail store opened in 1998. By 2018 the group had 157 stores in 9 countries, 5,000 staff and a valuation of about $1 billion. It now has more than 170 outlets.

> **[My humble roots drove me to become a success and give back to society | The...](https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/my-humble-roots-drove-me-to-become-a-success-and-give-back-to-society-1.761938)**
>
> Thousands of debt-ridden prisoners have been able to return home, thanks to their fines being paid by Forgotten Society, writes Firoz Merchant

[https://gulfbusiness.com/golden-touch-pure-gold-group-chairman-firoz-merchant/](https://gulfbusiness.com/golden-touch-pure-gold-group-chairman-firoz-merchant/)

**The Forgotten Society**

- 2008: The financial crisis hits Dubai. Workers and businessmen are jailed over unpaid debts and bounced cheques. Merchant founds the Forgotten Society.
- 2011: 335 prisoners flown home in 6 months. The debts ranged from AED 6,000 to AED 55,000. He spent AED 530,000 plus AED 420,000 to the Abu Dhabi Zakat Fund.
- 2017: 10,940 prisoners freed and AED 15 million spent. The Minister of Interior awards him the Community Service Medal, the first ever given to an expatriate.
- 2018: 560 prisoners released in April alone for AED 650,000. Total passes 15,000, including 5,000 from Ajman Central Jail.
- 2019: 700 prisoners freed to mark UAE National Day. Abu Dhabi Police gives him the Commander in Chief’s Excellence Award. He receives permanent residency.
- 2022: On 2 January the UAE decriminalises bounced cheques, 14 years after he started.
- 2024: AED 1 million frees more than 900 prisoners: 495 in Ajman, 170 in Fujairah, 121 in Dubai, 69 in Umm Al Quwain, 28 in Ras Al Khaimah.
- 2025: 2,972 prisoners from more than 50 nationalities released, with AED 2.4 million put towards their debts.
- February 2026: Total passes 20,000. 497 released so far this year.

> **[Indian businessman rescues prisoners in debt](https://gulfnews.com/uae/indian-businessman-rescues-prisoners-in-debt-1.770816)**
>
> A Dubai-based Indian businessman has come to the rescue of prisoners in debt

> **[Saif honours Indian businessman for philanthropy](https://gulfnews.com/amp/story/going-out%2Fsociety%2Fsaif-honours-indian-businessman-for-philanthropy-1.2069868)**
>
> Merchant spends Dh15m to pay off debts of 10,940 prisoners

> **[560 prisoners benefit from businessman’s largesse](https://gulfnews.com/going-out/society/560-prisoners-benefit-from-businessmans-largesse-1.2202359)**
>
> Philanthropist Firoz Merchant settled dues — equalling Dh650,000 — of prisoners jailed for money-related cases

> **[Pure Gold chairman awarded for helping insolvent prisoners](https://gulfnews.com/uae/pure-gold-chairman-awarded-for-helping-insolvent-prisoners-1.66695923)**
>
> Firoz Merchant becomes first Indian to bag Commander in Chief Excellence Award

> **[UAE: Bounced cheque cases decriminalised – what happens to old cases?](https://gulfnews.com/living-in-uae/banking/uae-bounced-cheque-cases-decriminalised--what-happens-to-old-cases-1.1641465578551)**
>
> “Can I get my visa renewed even if there was a bounced cheque case filed?”

> **[Meet Dubai-based businessman who paid Dh2.4 million to clear prisoners' debts](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai-based-businessman-freeing-20000-prisoners)**
>
> Much of the release effort is carried out in coordination with authorities and in partnership with the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation

The maths is the point. AED 25 million across 20,000 people is roughly AED 1,250 a head. Many of these people had finished their sentence and were still locked up because they couldn’t pay a fine or a flight. A few thousand dirhams was the whole difference between a cell and a family.

**How it works**

Merchant does not pick the prisoners. Police and correctional authorities in each emirate shortlist genuine debt cases, he clears the eligible debts and fines, and he pays for the air ticket home. He has also funded the Faraj Fund and other endowments that do the same job. He meets some of the people he helps. His view hasn’t changed in 15 years: “These people are not criminals.”

> **[Indian Philanthropist Firoz Merchant honoured by UAE Govt.](https://affairscloud.com/indian-philanthropist-firoz-merchant-honoured-uae-govt/)**
>
> Firoz Merchant, an Indian businessman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who has spent over USD 4 million to help free prisoners languishing in jails due to non-payment of debts, has been honoured with UAE’s prestigious Community Service Medal. Firoz...

In 2011 he put it this way: “We are all human and make mistakes.” In 2026, asked what he gets out of it: “If someone returns home to their family because a debt was cleared, that is enough.”

> **[Meet Dubai-based businessman who paid Dh2.4 million to clear prisoners' debts](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai-based-businessman-freeing-20000-prisoners)**
>
> Much of the release effort is carried out in coordination with authorities and in partnership with the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation

**Beyond the prison gate**

In 2025 he gave more than AED 1 million to the Dubai Charity Association to cover dialysis and medical costs for 11 kidney patients who had no other support. For 2026 he has committed AED 500,000 to AED 700,000 for cancer patients, rising to AED 1 million if needed. He funds hand pumps and clean water in villages in developing countries, meal packages for shift workers in Mumbai, and scholarships for Emirati women at the University of Fujairah and Ajman University. He also plans a mosque in each of the 7 emirates.

> **[Dubai-based Indian businessman donates over Rs 2 crore for kidney patients](https://www.siasat.com/dubai-based-indian-businessman-donates-over-rs-2-crore-for-kidney-patients-3192058/amp/)**
>
> Dubai Charity Association receives Dh 1M (Rs 2.37 Cr) donation from Indian businessman Firoz Merchant to support kidney dialysis patients.

**Was he recognised?**

Yes, and properly. Unlike many altruistic entrepreneurs, Merchant was credited by the state he was helping: a ministerial medal in 2017, the Abu Dhabi Police award in 2019, a Ministry of Interior citation in 2020 and permanent residency. The authorities worked with him from the start, and officials say so on the record.

The quieter fact is what came after. For 14 years the police were acting as debt collectors and one jeweller was paying the bill. In 2022 the law changed and bounced cheques stopped being a crime. Merchant never claimed credit for that. But 20,000 released prisoners is a very long argument, and eventually it was heard.

**Business as a force for good**

This is not a man signing cheques to a gala. Merchant found a group nobody was counting, worked out the exact price of their freedom, and paid it, year after year, in partnership with the people who held the keys. He identified a problem others overlooked and built a practical solution that restores dignity, reunites families and gives people another go. As he wrote himself: “if you do good it always comes back to you.”

> **[My humble roots drove me to become a success and give back to society | The...](https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/my-humble-roots-drove-me-to-become-a-success-and-give-back-to-society-1.761938)**
>
> Thousands of debt-ridden prisoners have been able to return home, thanks to their fines being paid by Forgotten Society, writes Firoz Merchant

At Causevest, we believe entrepreneurs who put their resources to work for the greater good deserve recognition. Firoz Merchant will be nominated for our Altruistic Entrepreneur Award, celebrating business leaders who use their success to create meaningful, positive change.

Everyone and everything deserves love.