NMC founder BR Shetty files $15 billion suit in Bombay High Court against Bank of Baroda

Dr. Bavaguthu Raghuram (BR) Shetty, founder of UAE-based healthcare provider NMC Healthcare and UAE Exchange, has filed a commercial suit in the Bombay High Court against Bank of Baroda (BoB) and others, claiming damages over $15 billion (approximately ₹1.43 lakh crore). [Dr BR Shetty v. Bank of Baroda & Ors.] The suit was filed through his power of attorney holder, Dr. Shishir Shetty. The defendants include BoB, its officers, and former NMC executives Prasanth and Promoth Manghat. According to the suit, Shetty stepped away from daily operations between 2012 and 2017 to pursue philanthropy. The Manghat brothers allegedly took full control of company finances during this time. They allegedly siphoned funds using sham supplier entities. Shetty claims his signature was copied from an electronic template onto loan guarantees without his consent. Shetty clarified that the suit has principally been brought against the bank “which was not a bystander to the fraud committed upon the Plaintiff but also was the instrument through which it was carried out” . Shetty alleges that bank officials executed round-tripping transactions, which is setting up accounts for sham shell suppliers and moving money around in circles, to make the company look profitable. Additionally, the bank ignored over 100 internal anti-money laundering alerts, and accepted illegal gratification including luxury electronics and a Rolex watch to hide group borrowings from statutory auditors. The bank also allegedly split balance confirmation certificates to conceal nearly AED 980 million ($250 million) in corporate debt from auditors Ernst & Young (EY). When the irregularities were exposed in late 2019, Shetty claims the bank made him a scapegoat by submitting false returns to the Reserve Bank of India. Further, they maliciously procured a Look Out Circular (LOC) that confined him to India for over three years before it was quashed by the Karnataka High Court, he said. “Once the fraud came to light, the Defendant No. 1 (bank) recast him as a defaulter, as a man fleeing his liabilities, and as the author of the very fraud of which he was a victim,” the suit states. The suit also notes that while BoB paid approximately $600 million (~₹5,700 crore) to settle claims brought by NMC’s administrators in Abu Dhabi, it continues to pursue Shetty on the same underlying guarantees. Shetty has sought $15 billion across three heads: Direct Damages: $5 Billion for lost shareholdings and enforced liabilities. Consequential Damages: $5 Billion for loss of business opportunities and income. Reputational Loss: $5 Billion against Bank of Baroda alone for destroying his business standing. Shetty is being represented by advocates Zulfiquar Memon, Waseem Pangarkar, Abhishek Gupta and Chinmay Bambarkar from MZM Legal LLP.