The administrators of NMC Health have sent legal letters before issuing claims against the company's former directors and ex-auditor EY.
"These claims have the potential to generate significant recoveries for the estate," administrators Alvarez & Marsal said in a progress report.
"Given the complexity and uncertainty surrounding the investigation and recoverability of claims, we consider that a meaningful estimate of dividend prospects for unsecured creditors cannot be made at this time," the report added.
NMC Health was founded in 1975 by BR Shetty and grew to become the UAE's biggest private healthcare company. It was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 and was valued at £8.58 billion ($12.1bn) at its peak in August 2018.
However, an independent investigation early last year sparked by a report in December 2019 from activist investor Muddy Waters uncovered more than $4.4bn of previously-undeclared debt.
"This remains an active, substantial investigation with fast-growing dynamics," the administrators' report said, adding that a legal letter before claim was issued to former auditor EY on April 30 and that letters "in respect of certain claims against directors" were being issued by May 7.
"In addition, our investigation ... continues to attract information requests from various regulators and law enforcement agencies including the Serious Fraud Office, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, Financial Conduct Authority and Financial Reporting Council. Our cooperation with these agencies is ongoing," it added.
Auditor EY confirmed that it "has received correspondence from the administrators to NMC Health indicating an intention to pursue a claim", a spokeswoman told The National. She declined to comment further.
NMC Health's former directors and principal shareholders are already facing legal action from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which was the company's biggest lender. It secured a worldwide freezing order on their assets in the UK in December and obtained another freezing order on Mr Shetty's assets in the Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts last month.
Alvarez & Marsal was appointed as administrator in April last year and to date has racked up more than £18.5 million of time costs, spending more than 36,700 hours on the case at an average rate of £505 an hour, the report showed.
Administrators have so far added more than 19 million records of information from the group and third parties to its investigation database and "millions" of accounting entries continue to be analysed.
"These tasks are substantial and the level of work necessary will continue to be extensive as we seek to recover value," administrators said. The administration period for NMC Health has been extended for another 12 months until April 2022.
Administrators have already realised $106m in sale proceeds from the sale of the Boston IVF business last month. Other assets have also been sold off as they focus on the company's core healthcare operations in the UAE and Oman.
A twin-track process involving a lender-led restructuring or a sale of the business is currently being pursued.
Administrators said last month that the restructuring could lead to about $4bn of the company's $6.4bn of debt being wiped out, but added that this would most likely generate the best return for creditors, who need to vote on the proposal by June 15. If the restructuring plan does not get sufficient support, a sale will be pursued but this "is likely to yield a significantly lower recovery", a presentation document sent to lenders last month said.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Law%2041.9.4%20of%20men%E2%80%99s%20T20I%20playing%20conditions
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Not Dark Yet
Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer
Four stars
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
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
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
