The once popular art fund has failed to live up to its promise to repay investors. Chief advisor Neville Tuli assures again that payments will be made despite the delay

Osian's creditors may have to wait, says Neville Tuli, chief advisor of Osian's Art Fund. His response was in answer to an investor's queries about the delay in funds being transferred to investors' bank accounts. Mr Tuli has also indicated that the date for 'total redemption' that was initially set as end-June, will be deferred.

"We are trying our best to adhere to the deadline and will be able to give you a more precise update by Friday, 24 June 2011, but a delay of about seven to ten days will probably occur in some cases," Mr Tuli said. Most payments will be in the form of demand drafts.

When Moneylife approached Mr Tuli with the case of an analyst whose mother had invested Rs10 lakh in Osian's Art Fund, he promised that the first instalment would be disbursed on 4th June, but it did not happen. "We have checked with our bank and no transfer has come through from Osian's. NEFT transfers usually come through the same day. Could you let us know when we can expect the first instalment?" the investor had asked Osian's chief advisor.

Mr Tuli's response was: "All NEFT (national electronic funds transfer) transfers started on Monday, 6th June, and will close by Thursday, 9th June 2011. The investor's NEFT was completed this morning (Tuesday)," Mr Tuli said.

Earlier, Osian's chief advisor had said that all unit-holders would be paid in three instalments in June which would account for 85% of their capital. For those who were expecting payments via NEFT, and whose account/branch details differed from that in Osian's records, there would be a delay of four to five days. Updates about the status of the total redemption target would be available on 24th June.
However, Mr Tuli's assurances have failed to convince other investors who are yet to receive their payments and they are now planning to organise themselves into a group and take stringent action.

"Can the investors say if they have received their investment + return (as indicated at closure) between 17th May and 29th May as was last promised by Mr Tuli? If not, a few investors have suggested a sit-in protest outside Osian's office, to get the attention of the local press and the police," an investor said.
The proposal is supported by Rajiv Jain, whose company had supplied Osian's with paintings for auctions, but it has not received payments even after the paintings were sold. "The auditors of Osian's have sent us a letter acknowledging that they owe us this money. It will be a great help if our company can join a common platform so that we can retrieve our hard-earned money," Mr Jain said.

The tide of anger is unlikely to subside if Mr Tuli delays the return of funds any further.