NMC’s BR Shetty fails to overturn $33m DIFC court ruling

• Appeal denied in Baroda case
• Shetty personally liable for millions
• Investigations into NMC continue

BR Shetty has lost his bid to appeal against a $33 million judgment by the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts in a case linked to the collapse of the company he founded, NMC Health.

In the ruling made public this month, Chief Justice Wayne Martin dismissed Shetty’s request to challenge the judgment in favour of India’s Bank of Baroda, stating: “None of the grounds of appeal has any prospect of success [whatsoever].”

The court had previously found Shetty personally liable as guarantor for funds advanced to Neopharma, one of several entities in the NMC Healthcare Group.

Shetty said he had not signed the personal guarantee.

However, the court noted that he “gave no evidence” and accepted handwriting analysis provided by the Indian state-owned bank.

• NMC founder BR Shetty ordered to pay $33m to Indian bank
• BR Shetty ordered to pay $106m to Indian bank
• NMC scandal is watershed moment for UAE businesses

The ruling adds to the legal fallout from NMC Health’s collapse, which exposed more than $6.6 billion in hidden debt across 75 debt facilities from more than 80 financial institutions.

The company was placed into administration in 2020, triggering multiple lawsuits and regulatory investigations in the UAE, India and the UK.

In a separate ruling, Shetty has been ordered by a DIFC court to pay $106 million to India’s Icici Bank over personal guarantees.

Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, once one of the UAE’s most prominent billionaire businessmen, has continued to deny wrongdoing and alleged he was the victim of internal fraud.

NMC, the UAE’s largest private healthcare operator, exited administration in 2022 after a $4 billion restructuring led by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.