Mahindra Jewellers: RBC paid in full, and $500,000 left to share

BDO Canada Limited has asked the Court of King's Bench of Alberta to approve the last distributions in the receivership of Mahindra Jewellers (AB) Ltd., Mahindra Investments (AB) Ltd. and two related companies, and to discharge it, in a receivership that began with Royal Bank of Canada's application without notice on April 3, 2025 and has, by BDO's Seventh Report of October 15, 2026, left the bank paid $5,961,456 "in full satisfaction of the debt." "To the knowledge of the Receiver, there are no further assets of the Companies remaining to be realized upon," per the Receiver's Seventh Report, Oct. 15, 2026, paras. 2, 59, 61.

The receiver held $570,412 on October 7 and counts $500,000 of it as available for distribution after $70,000 of estimated closing costs. Its application, returnable October 29 before Justice G. Dunlop, asks the court to pay $295,000 to the holders of a second mortgage on two condominium bays and $205,000 to BDO as trustee in the bankruptcy of Mahindra Jewellers, to unseal the receiver's confidential supplements, and to discharge BDO, per the Application (Final Distribution and Discharge), Oct. 16, 2026, para. 1(d)–(e), (j)–(k) and the Seventh Report, paras. 36, 40. After the $295,000, the receiver expects that "the Second Mortgagee will face a shortfall of approximately $705,000 and there will be no distribution to unsecured creditors of Investments," per the Seventh Report, para. 43. No order from the October 29 hearing is in the record.

A bank's officer at the counter

Mahindra Jewellers ran a retail jewellery business from a condominium bay at 9258 34 Avenue NW in Edmonton. The bay belonged to Mahindra Investments, a real estate holding company with commercial units in Calgary, Edmonton and High River; Surrey Gold Jewellers (AB) Ltd. and Bluewater (786) Contractors Ltd. do not appear, in the receiver's words, to have had active operations or assets, per the Seventh Report, para. 28 and the Interim Receiver's First Report, Apr. 16, 2025, para. 5. RBC's affidavit says the loans to Investments were made so the company could buy commercial condominium bays in Edmonton and Calgary in which to open new jewellery stores, and that when a new relationship manager made site visits in about August 2024 the bays remained empty, per the RBC affidavit, Mar. 27, 2025, para. 35.

On March 17, 2025, the RBC senior manager who later swore that affidavit went to the Edmonton store, which sold 22 karat gold, diamond and silver jewellery. In the affidavit's words: "During my site visit I did not advise the employees at the Retail Location that I was an employee of RBC. I acted as if I was a regular Retail Location customer." The same morning the affiant visited two other goldsmiths in the plaza and, based on a review of those, concluded that the Mahindra store "did not appear to have full inventory," per the RBC affidavit, paras. 53–57. The affidavit puts Investments' debt to the bank at $4,441,019.04 and Jewellers' at $987,231.69 as of March 24, 2025, each company guaranteeing the other's, per the RBC affidavit, paras. 66–69.

The companies' $2.2 million proposal

The companies' side of that week reaches the record through RBC's own exhibits. On March 25, a law firm retained by Investments asked RBC for payout statements on sales of five Calgary units, Units 87 and 88 among them, per the RBC affidavit, para. 73. The companies' counsel wrote the next day that "a subordinate creditor" was "willing to tender approximately $2.2M near immediately" in exchange for the five units "and loan forgiveness," and asked whether RBC would release them for that sum, in an email exhibited to an affidavit sworn by a legal assistant at RBC's counsel, per the legal assistant's affidavit, Apr. 3, 2025, Ex. "A", p. 10. RBC declined: its mortgages, the March 27 affidavit says, stand as security for all of Investments' debt, and its records showed the units "potentially worth more than $2,200,000 on the open market," per the RBC affidavit, Mar. 27, 2025, para. 77.

Counsel's email of March 29 gave the reason for the hurry: "The urgency is the clients are near insolvency and intend on starting to liquidate their portfolio as their current burn rate makes opening up new stores in the subject properties likely impossible." At 11:04 a.m. on April 3, the day RBC's application was set down for 2:00 p.m. in Calgary, counsel sent an inventory listing for the Edmonton store at $1,451,236.21 and wrote that RBC's security over the remaining units and the inventory "provides them more than ample security for their net remaining loan amount - the inventory alone provides them with over 50% coverage," per the legal assistant's affidavit, Ex. "A", pp. 4–6 and the Bench Brief of RBC, filed Apr. 4, 2025, p. 1. The interim receivership order lists that affidavit among the materials the court read, per the Interim Receivership Order, Apr. 3, 2025, preamble.

Why without notice

RBC's bench brief asked for an interim receiver under s. 47 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, without notice, citing payment defaults, covenant and reporting breaches, and municipal property taxes left unpaid on Investments' units, "requiring RBC to pay the property taxes to avoid municipal tax sales." It pointed to British Columbia, where BDO had been appointed receiver of seven related companies controlled by the same principals, and told the court that BDO was "of the view" that if RBC gave notice of its intention to enforce its security, "the inventory will likely be removed before a receiver can secure it," per the Bench Brief of RBC, paras. 1, 8, 9(d)–(e), 16(c). Justice C. Simard granted the order in Calgary on April 3, providing that the application "may proceed without notice" and appointing BDO over the companies' jewellery and other inventory, accounts, money, instruments and records, per the Interim Receivership Order, paras. 1–2.

The interim receiver reached the store on April 4. It "appeared to be fully stocked with jewellery inventory." BDO counted, photographed and packed the stock, moved it to secure storage, and reported that approximately 95% of the inventory "appears to be consistent amongst the listings," among them a summary the company had given the bank showing a cost of approximately $1.5 million. It found no books or records; the manager said the companies' accounting was done at the head office in British Columbia, and several attempts to reach one of the principals had brought "no response or cooperation," per the Interim Receiver's First Report, paras. 8, 10–12, 14. Early on April 8 a fire broke out in the same complex, two units over according to preliminary information, leaving the store with smoke and water damage and remediation expected to take up to 12 months, per the Interim Receiver's First Report, para. 16 and the Receiver's First Report, June 23, 2025, para. 25. On April 25, after hearing counsel for the debtors among others, Justice Simard appointed BDO receiver of all four companies' assets, undertakings and properties under s. 243(1) of the BIA and s. 13(2) of the Judicature Act, per the Receivership Order, Apr. 25, 2025, preamble, para. 2.

Melted, auctioned and sold

BDO's plan for the jewellery was to auction select pieces expected to fetch more than melt value and to sell the rest for melting. Its First Report records that in the B.C. receivership auctioneers had shown limited interest in the related companies' stock because of "its predominantly East Indian styling and lack of designer branding," and it judged the Alberta inventory "very similar to that of the Mahindra BC Companies, in design, quality, and condition." It added that "A substantial portion of the inventory comprises outdated, non-designer pieces," per the First Report, paras. 52, 98, 102, 105. On August 14, 2025, Justice G.S. Dunlop approved a July 9 gold purchase agreement with Guardian International Gold Corp. and a master consignment agreement with Bonhams, per the Guardian approval order, Aug. 14, 2025, para. 3 and the Bonhams approval order, Aug. 14, 2025, para. 2. Guardian's melting and refining of the gold jewellery realized net proceeds of approximately $1.3 million, and the Bonhams auction process is complete, per the Seventh Report, para. 31(n)–(o).