Jai Jinendra and Pranam
Hope you are all well.
Special General Meeting – Sunday, 22 March 2026
As you may already be aware, the Executive Committee has convened a Special General Meeting (SGM) to be held on Sunday, 22 March 2026 at 10:00am at the Oshwal Centre.
The purpose of this SGM is to seek members confidence in the Executive Committee following a serious allegation of money laundering made and circulated by Mr Nilesh Dhanraj Shah.
On 18 October 2025, we wrote to members to formally refute these allegations and confirmed that an SGM would be called. The SGM will be an opportunity for members to hear the actual facts and to express their confidence or lack of, in the current Executive Committee, in line with our obligations to the Charity Commission.
At the SGM, the Executive Committee will present the findings of an independent forensic accountant, which examines the validity of the allegations. For clarity, money laundering refers to the act of concealing or disguising the origins of money obtained through criminal activity in order to make it appear legitimate.
When members write to the Charity Commission without full understanding of the facts, the implications can be significant. Furthermore, related communications have been shared via social media and forwarded to employers and regulatory bodies connected to some Trustees.
The Executive Committee considers these actions to be extremely serious and potentially damaging. In light of this, we believe it is important to provide full transparency, present the independent findings, and seek confirmation that members retain confidence in the Executive Committee.
Why are we calling an SGM at this time?
As a result of some members writing to the Charity Commission about this matter and to ensure that OAUK is not adversely impacted and the full facts are given, we filed a Serious Incident Report (SIR) to the Charity Commission on 30 December 2025 fully explaining the transaction. As part of this, among other things, we committed to convening a Special General Meeting of the membership to seek confidence in the Executive Committee within 90 days of submission. Hence, the timing of this SGM.
We strongly encourage all members to attend.Note there will be no Sunday Satsang on this day.
Please bring your OAUK membership card for identification. The Executive Committee reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone unable to provide adequate proof of membership.
Light Refreshment following the meeting
To help with catering arrangements and avoiding any wastage, if you are attending, please fill out this on-line registration form to confirm the numbers.
Look forward to seeing you on 22nd March 2026.
Milli Abrahams
Congratulations to Milli Abrahams on completing one of the toughest challenges – rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean single handedly. What an incredible and amazing feat! We are very proud of Milli who is the daughter of Jayantbhai Hirji Pethraj Shah and Maltiben Jayant Shah.
Ayambil
The festival of Ayambil is starting on Wed, 25th March and ending on Thu, 2 April with “Parna” on Fri, 3 April. We look forward to seeing you all.
As always, before Ayambil , the ingredients (ration) need to be cleaned and sorted. This will take place at Oshwal Centre on Saturday 21st March from 9am. We require volunteers who can come and assist with this important task. All the help that is given is appreciated. Also, if you wish to help during the Ayambil in the catering side, you are most welcome. Thank you in advance for your help.
As you know, all members are now able to participate in the festival of Ayambil by making a contribution/nakro of only £251. If you wish to take this nakro, please give your name to the office by calling 01707 643838.
Full details and Ayambil timetable available on our website – click here
Mahavir Janma Kalyanak 2026
Please see the message received from the Vatican by clicking this link.
Inter Faith and External Affairs
On 14 January 2026 we had a visit from members and the Rabbi of the Edgware Synagogue. They were hugely impressed by the Derasar and our facilities.
On 5th February 2026 I had the privilege of chairing the Hertfordshire Faith & Health Networking Board meeting which was held at the Watford Synagogue to discuss how the faith communities can have say in health policies in the borough. There were some forty faith community leaders and health professionals attending along with MP Matt Turmaine of Watford.
On 27th January 2026 we attended the Holocaust Memorial Day Service at Hertswood Academy in Borehamwood as guests of Councillor Parveen Rani of Hertsmere. It was a very moving service with interesting background on the holocaust and some real-life stories.
I recently attended an Indian Community engagement seminar at the Houses of Parliament organised by the National Community Engagement Team (NCET) of the Home Office and the British High Commission of New Delhi.
On 6-8th March, Shandip Shah represented the Jain Community at the invitation of IOJ to be a moderator at an Interfaith Conference organised by the Dicastry of Inter Religious Dialogue of the Vatican. The conference was held in Turin and also present were 3 Jain youths.
On 8 March 2026, we participated in the OneJAIN Presidents Conferenec at Avanti School. Guest speakers included Baroness Shah, Lord Katz, Lord Raval, Matt Turmaine MP, Bob Blackman MP, Mayor Anjana Patel, Superintendent Zubin Writer and Inspector Muhammad Islam and our own Vice President Nirmal Shah.
Online Events and other Area Activities
We have online events which are being organised to engage you all and also various Area activities are taking place. Please do visit our website of all the upcoming events and keeping you informed on any important aspects of OAUK work.
Conclusion
Across all nine areas—and centrally—there has been a great deal of positive work delivered by our trustees, area committees, sub-committees and our dedicated volunteers. Our outreach efforts have built many lasting and supportive relationships not only with faith-based organisations but also with central and local government. Oshwal Association of the UK is increasingly relied upon by many organisations as an all-weather partner, which has further strengthened our standing as a prominent Jain organisation across all sectors.
There is real positivity out there, and our members should be genuinely proud of this. We encourage everyone to look to recognise the meaningful work taking place every day to keep our community strong, vibrant and united.
Jai Mahavir, Jai Oshwal,
Rumit Devchand Shah
OAUK Hon. President
Email: president@oshwal.org