Reports commissioned by BR Shetty, the founder of NMC Health and Finablr, have accused the chief executives who were running his businesses of siphoning off millions of dirhams of money.
Prasanth Manghat, the former chief executive of NMC Health, and his brother Promoth, who led Finablr, are accused in the documents seen by The National of "[de]frauding both companies and embezzling their funds" by routing money through Mr Shetty's personal accounts before transferring sums directly to themselves or their associates. The two men have refuted the allegations made in the reports and say they have not received any unlawful payments.
The collapse of NMC Health remains under investigation by authorities and the company's administrators. The company's biggest lender, ADCB, initiated criminal legal proceedings with the attorney general in Abu Dhabi against Mr Shetty, who is currently in India, and a number of other individuals. A worldwide freezing order on Mr Shetty's assets has also been issued by the DIFC Courts following a claim filed by Credit Europe Bank.
The reports by Dubai-based Wise House Consulting are understood to form part of a court dispute between Mr Shetty and Bank of Baroda in India.
One claim is that Prasanth Manghat and other NMC employees “made payment transactions on the personal account of Mr Shetty at the Bank of Baroda, without having any authority or delegation on the account and sent transfer orders attributed to Mr Shetty”. The transactions had a value of more than Dh1bn, the report claims.
Another states that 11 cheques with a combined value of more than Dh232.5 million paid through a Bank of Baroda account which Mr Shetty said he was not aware of, and for which "there was no legitimate reason" for payments. It cites Obaid Al-Bah, a forgery and counterfeit expert, as stating signatures on the cheques were forgeries.
A further claim made is that Promoth Manghat, the former chief executive of Finablr and another employee opened an account with a UAE bank using “a forged account opening form” in Mr Shetty's name that gave them the authority to run the account.
Some Dh907m of transactions went through the account, including Dh17.3m directly to Mr Manghat and two other Finablr employees, it is claimed.
An account held in the name of one of Mr Shetty's other companies, Guide Contracting, had Dh150m transferred into it by NMC Health and Dh48m from Finablr, it is claimed. Some funds from this account were transferred "to themselves, unrelated parties, other persons, their affiliates, and employees". More than a dozen other NMC and Finablr employees were also named as "parties involved in the investigated fraudulent transactions" in the reports commissioned by Mr Shetty.
Such actions may have had "a fundamental effect on the financial statements and funds of the two companies", both of which revealed large, previously undeclared debts earlier this year.
“It is categorically denied that either Mr Prasanth or Mr Promoth Manghat have received any unlawful payments, and they strongly refute the accusations made that seem to be designed maliciously to distract attention away from those responsible for damaging the highly successful businesses they helped create,” a spokesman for the brothers said.
“Whilst the matter is sub-judice they cannot comment further, other than to say that Mr Prasanth offered and is making progress towards assisting the NMC administrators, and Mr Promoth is pleased to see that both Travelex and UAE Exchange are moving towards a more financially stable position.”
NMC Health and the administrators declined to comment on the matter. A spokesman for Mr Shetty also declined to comment.
Finablr did not respond to requests from The National to comment.
A spokeswoman for Bank of Baroda said "extant guidelines were followed while undertaking the transactions" highlighted in the reports.
NMC Health was founded by Mr Shetty in 1975 and grew from a single hospital into the UAE’s biggest privately-owned healthcare operator.
The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 and was valued at £8.58bn (Dh40bn) at its peak but fell into administration in April after the company declared its debts, at $6.6bn, were materially higher than the $2.1bn previously stated in its accounts.
Finablr, a group of foreign exchange and digital payment companies, is also seeking fresh funding after declaring in May that its debts were about $1bh higher than the $334.1m previously declared in its accounts. Its Travelex foreign exchange company has already been taken over by its lenders and its UAE Exchange arm has been overseen by the UAE Central Bank since March.
Mr Shetty, who remains Finablr's majority shareholder, stepped down from his role as co-chairman of the company last week.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Key developments in maritime dispute
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai,
HBKU Press
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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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.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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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
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five pillars of Islam
Classification from Tour de France after Stage 17
1. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 73:27:26"
2. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia / Cannondale-Drapac) 27"
3. Romain Bardet (France / AG2R La Mondiale)
4. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana Pro Team) 53"
5. Mikel Landa (Spain / Team Sky) 1:24"
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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