Bavagauthu Raghuram Shetty, the founder of NMC Health and payments group Finablr, said he still intends to return to the UAE to clear his name despite a court in India upholding a ruling this week preventing him from leaving the country.
Mr Shetty, who was originally stopped from boarding a flight to Abu Dhabi from Bengaluru airport in November last year, had appealed against a ruling in February that banned him from leaving the country. However, the initial verdict was upheld. The businessman intends to appeal to the Supreme Court to have this overturned.
"My reaction is only to appeal again to the court to see that I come to the UAE, Abu Dhabi as soon as possible. My heart is there. I'm a son of the soil of Abu Dhabi and I'll come back, with the goodwill and the blessing of the royal family," he told The National.
“I want to clear my name. I have my family there. I don’t want to die with any liability of a bad name.”
Mr Shetty first arrived in the UAE in 1973 and set up NMC Health two years later, which later grew to become the largest privately-owned healthcare operator in the UAE.
The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 and at its peak in August 2018 was valued at £8.58 billion ($12.05bn). However, a report by short seller Muddy Waters in December 2019 claimed NMC Health had inflated the value of its assets and under-reported its debt.
A subsequent investigation found more than $4.4bn of previously undisclosed debt, leading the company to be placed into administration in April last year. Previously-unreported debt worth more than $1bn was discovered a month later at Finablr, a payments and foreign exchange group majority-owned by Mr Shetty.
Mr Shetty, who has been in India since February last year after returning to visit his brother, who died last March, is facing legal action in a number of jurisdictions from various lenders.
A Dubai International Financial Centre court placed a freezing order on his UAE assets last June following a petition by Credit Europe Bank (Dubai), which says he personally guaranteed an $8 million loan. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which was NMC Health's main lender, secured a worldwide freezing order on the assets of Mr Shetty, other principal shareholders and former directors of NMC Health at a secret hearing in London in December. A subsequent freezing order on UAE assets was awarded to the bank last month. In India, Bank of Baroda has sought to enforce personal guarantees on debts worth more than $250m.
Mr Shetty has persistently denied any wrongdoing. He blamed a group of former executives at his companies for creating bank accounts, raising loans, signing cheques and creating personal guarantees in his name, without his knowledge. He claims his signature was forged on many documents.
A report commissioned last year by Mr Shetty from Dubai-based Wise House Consultancy claimed former NMC Health chief executive Prasanth Manghat, and other executives, transferred millions of dirhams from company accounts into their own accounts. It also claimed some sums were transferred through an account opened at Bank of Baroda in his name, but without his knowledge, to accounts held by executives. The National was unable to reach Mr Manghat for comment.
Bank of Baroda has allegedly instigated the action that is preventing Mr Shetty from leaving India, he said. The businessman said he has requested the bank lifts it.
“We have questioned them … do you want money, or do you want Shetty? They said money, so I said, ‘OK, then why are you object[ing] to allowing me to go?’”.
Bank of Baroda did not immediately respond to a request from The National to comment.
He said his intention is to clear his name, rebuild his business empire and repay any debt that he owes.
“Whatever the money is, is not a matter for me. How I made this $1bn, I will make more now to repay their loans. I will not keep any Dh1 … provided it is my genuine signature,” he said.
“It is [over] 46 years I built the company. You think I can now thieve the company and go? Impossible.”
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Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
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Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Profile
Name: Carzaty
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Launched: 2017
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Based: Dubai and Muscat
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The specs
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
SRI LANKA SQUAD
Upul Tharanga (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella
Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana
Chamara Kapugedara, Thisara Perera, Seekuge Prasanna
Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera
Vishwa Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
Brief scoreline:
Wales 1
James 5'
Slovakia 0
Man of the Match: Dan James (Wales)
How to wear a kandura
Dos
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- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
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Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
Brief scoreline:
Tottenham 1
Son 78'
Manchester City 0
The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
