UAE court orders B.R. Shetty to pay $45.99 million to SBI after finding he lied under oath
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Dubai: The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts has ordered B.R. Shetty, founder of the now-collapsed NMC Healthcare Group, to pay $45.99 million (Dh168.7 million) to the State Bank of India (DIFC Branch) after finding that he lied under oath about signing a personal guarantee for a $50 million (Dh183.5 million) loan.
In a judgment issued on October 8, Justice Andrew Moran described Shetty’s testimony as “an incredible parade of lies” and called his evidence during the September 29 hearing “incoherent and nonsensical.” The court said there was “overwhelming witness and documentary evidence” proving that Shetty personally signed the guarantee in December 2018, making him liable for the debt.
Under the ruling, Shetty must pay $45,997,554.59 (Dh168.8 million), including interest up to the judgment date, with post-judgment interest set at 9 per cent per year, accruing at roughly $11,341 (Dh41,645) per day until full repayment.
The case centred on whether Shetty had personally guaranteed a $50 million loan extended by State Bank of India (SBI) to NMC Healthcare in December 2018. Shetty denied signing any documents or meeting the bank’s CEO, claiming his signature was forged.
However, the court was presented with photographs, meeting notes, and emails from Shetty’s own account contradicting his version.
The bank’s then-CEO, Anantha Shenoy, testified that he travelled to NMC’s Abu Dhabi office on December 25, 2018, where Shetty signed the guarantee in his presence. Shenoy also produced photographs taken weeks later showing Shetty with senior SBI officials, apparently thanking them for the facility. When shown the photos, Shetty claimed the officials must have “just come and stood there” while he posed for pictures with the chairman.
The court dismissed these claims as “false and discreditable manoeuvring designed to evade liability.”
Justice Moran also rejected Shetty’s claim that NMC employees once held a competition to see who could best forge his signature, calling the explanation “bizarre.”
Handwriting experts testified that the signatures on the guarantee, sanction letter, and related documents matched Shetty’s handwriting. The judge said the evidence against him was overwhelming.
The ruling marks another blow to the 83-year-old Indian billionaire, once hailed as one of the UAE’s most successful Indian entrepreneurs. Shetty founded NMC Healthcare in the mid-1970s, building it into the UAE’s largest private healthcare provider, alongside other ventures such as UAE Exchange and Finablr.
At its peak, NMC was listed on the London Stock Exchange and valued at more than $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion). But the company collapsed in 2020 after hidden debts of over $4 billion (Dh14.68 billion) were discovered, triggering international investigations.
Shetty resigned as joint non-executive chairman of NMC in February 2020. The company was later placed under administration in Abu Dhabi, while Shetty left the UAE and returned to India, citing health reasons.
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India progressing under PM Modi, Karnataka heading towards decline: Union Minister Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said while India is moving steadily towards becoming the world’s third-largest economic power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, Karnataka is heading in the opposite direction under the Congress government.
Speaking at a programme to mark the 101st birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, along with the Atal Award presentation and Good Governance Day celebrations, the JD(S) leader said Karnataka was once a model state for governance and development.
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“Karnataka was once synonymous with exemplary governance. It had adopted an outstanding development model and emerged as a leader for the entire nation. But under the Congress government’s administration, all these distinctions have been lost, and the State is now moving in the opposite direction,” Kumaraswamy said.
He alleged that the current dispensation has completely damaged the education sector, noting that Karnataka was once a frontrunner in education.
“Karnataka, which once ranked first in good governance, has reached such a state today. Frivolous politics is being played in a good State. Administration across all departments; including health, education, agriculture and revenue has deteriorated. People must now seriously introspect,” he said.
Asserting that the era of good governance must return, Kumaraswamy said people are fed up with the misgovernance of this government.
Bengaluru, once the IT-BT capital and a hub of education and technology, has seen its infrastructure completely deteriorate, he said.
"The state government lacks the mindset to accept even well-intentioned and expert advice. It has developed a culture of speaking irresponsibly even about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.”
Noting that the state has all the potential and capacity to move forward, the union minister said, “At a time when India is stepping forward to become the world’s third-largest economic power under Modi government, one wonders in which direction Karnataka is heading? It is moving backwards and sliding into decline.”
Remembering Vajpayee as “Ajatashatru”, a leader without enemies who rendered long and distinguished service to the nation, Kumaraswamy said leaders like Vajpayee are rare today.
“His contributions as External Affairs Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Prime Minister were immense. He was a visionary leader who took the BJP from just two seats to 170 seats in Parliament,” he added.
Expressing concern over growing unrest, he said, “Karnataka must once again become a garden of peace for all communities. There is unrest in society. When one looks at what is happening within families, it causes anxiety. While technology is advancing and economic strength is increasing, there is fear even in turning on the television in the morning. There is no peace of mind for anyone. It is for this reason that I have advocated teaching the Bhagavad Gita at the school level. Unfortunately, politics is being unnecessarily mixed into this issue."
