UAE-based FinTech company Finablr said on Monday that its founder BR Shetty has resigned as a director and co-chairman with immediate effect.
The development comes after the company last month appointed law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom as its lead counsel "to investigate historic potential malfeasance within the Finablr Group and any misappropriation of assets".
Finablr operates a group of foreign exchange and digital payment companies including brands such as UAE Exchange, Xpress Money, Unimoni, Remit2India and Bayan Pay.
It also previously owned the Travelex foreign exchange business, which was taken over by its lenders last month.
Finablr floated on the London Stock Exchange in May 2019 in a deal that valued the business at £1.23 billion (Dh5.95bn), but its shares have been suspended since March when its market cap had shrunk to £77.2 million.
The company, which is majority-owned by Mr Shetty, reported in May that its debt was $1bn (Dh3.67bn) higher than the $334.1m previously reported in its accounts.
In a separate statement, Finablr also said it received a notification from tax authorities in the UK that it is proposing to suspend the business registration of two local entities, UAE Exchange UK and Xpress Money Services.
“Suspension of business registration would result in cessation of business by the relevant entities unless and until the suspension is lifted. The company intends to work with HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) to attempt to restore the registrations,” Finablr said. A spokesman for Mr Shetty declined to comment on his resignation.
Mr Shetty owns a 62.7 per cent stake in Finablr, according to market data, but is currently unable to sell these shares as a worldwide order freezing his assets was recently granted by DIFC Courts to a lender in Dubai that claimed he had defaulted on a loan of more than $8m.
The order was granted to Credit Europe Bank (Dubai) ahead of a claim filed at the DIFC Courts against Mr Shetty, New Medical Centre Trading and NMC Healthcare.
The assets that were frozen include properties in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as well as shares in NMC Health, Finablr, BRS Investment Holdings and other companies.
Mr Shetty is fighting the claim, arguing in a response that he did not personally guarantee loans made by the lender to NMC Trading or NMC Healthcare and that the signatures used on cheques guaranteeing the loans were forgeries.
Mr Shetty is also the founder of NMC Healthcare, the biggest privately-owned healthcare provider in the UAE, which was placed into administration in April.
Problems with Mr Shetty's empire first emerged in December when activist investor Muddy Waters issued a report saying NMC Health had inflated its cash balances, overpaid for its assets and understated its debt.
This sparked an independent investigation which found that debts at NMC Health were materially higher, at $6.6bn, than the $2.1bn previously stated in its accounts.
Mr Shetty issued a statement in April arguing that he has been a victim of fraud committed by "a small group of current and former executives" at companies owned by him. He said bank accounts were created in his name and transactions were made without his knowledge, and that loans, cheques and bank transfers were also fraudulently guaranteed in his name using his forged signature.
"To see everything that my family and I have strived to build over the past 45 years eroded over the course of a few short months, and mainly due to the misconduct and wrongdoing of people I put so much trust in, saddens me beyond words," Mr Shetty said.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
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Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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- On sale: 2026
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Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
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Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
