KOCHI: A visibly relieved Ramachandran told a media organisation following his release he had the financial muscle to pay off the entire dues in 2015 if only the banks had granted him some time. “We had a turnover of close to Rs 4,000 crore then. However, I still believe I can rise like a phoenix from the ashes,” he said
Ramachandran was released after the three banks which had earlier refused to sign a standstill agreement agreed to withdraw the cases against Ramachandran. However, sources said Ramachandran will not be allowed to travel outside the UAE as there are terms and conditions attached to his release.
The Kerala-based businessmen founded the Atlas Group - which during its heyday had more than 50 jewellery outlets spread across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and India. The Atlas group’s annual turnover was reported to be around 3.5 million UAD at one time.
The 76-year-old Ramachandran, popularly known as ‘Atlas’ Ramachandran, was charged in November 2015 for cases pertaining to bounced cheques totalling around Rs1,000 crore UAD 15 million). He has also dabbled in Mollywood, having produced the hugely successful ‘Vaishali’ and the critically-accalimed ‘Vasthuhara’. Besides, Ramachandran donned the filmmaker’s hat for ‘Holidays’ released in 2010.