A Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) court has ordered BR Shetty, founder of the collapsed NMC Healthcare empire, to pay 381 crore rupees to the State Bank of India (SBI) after finding that he repeatedly lied under oath about signing a personal guarantee for a loan. Justice Andrew Moran delivered the verdict on October 8, describing Shetty’s testimony as “an incredible parade of lies” and calling his evidence “incoherent and nonsensical” during the trial on September 29. The case revolved around whether Shetty had signed a personal guarantee in December 2018 for a 415 crore rupees loan extended to NMC Healthcare. Shetty had consistently claimed the signature was forged and that he had never met the bank’s CEO, who reportedly witnessed the signing. “I am bound to find that there is overwhelming witness and documentary evidence before me, which satisfies me that Mr Shetty has come before this Court and lied on oath in his multiple denials that he signed the Personal Guarantee,” Justice Moran wrote in his 70-paragraph judgment. The judgment awards SBI 381 crore rupees, including interest up to the judgment date, with additional interest accruing at 9 per cent per annum until full payment. Evidence During the proceedings, Shetty initially denied any knowledge of the loan facility but later admitted awareness when confronted with an email he sent in May 2020 acknowledging discussions with the bank about the guarantee. “It turns out and I so find, that he was fully aware of and had admitted he had signed the Personal Guarantee back in May 2020,” the judge wrote. The bank’s CEO, Anantha Shenoy, testified that he visited NMC’s Abu Dhabi offices on December 25, 2018, to witness Shetty sign the guarantee. Shenoy presented photographs and a detailed meeting report from January 13, 2019, showing Shetty thanking the bank’s chairman for the loan. Shetty attempted to dismiss the photos, claiming the meeting was purely for networking. The judge rejected these explanations, noting that Shetty’s attempts to discredit Shenoy’s testimony were “false and discreditable manoeuvring” to evade liability. Bizarre claims Shetty also made unusual claims, alleging that NMC employees held competitions to replicate his signature, with a prize for the winner. When asked about the prize, he said it was “the suffering he is being caused now.” Expert handwriting analysis played a key role in the verdict. SBI’s expert identified eleven significant similarities between Shetty’s known signatures and the disputed documents. Shetty’s own expert described the evidence as “inconclusive” but admitted critical points under cross-examination. Justice Moran preferred the bank’s expert, noting Shetty’s expert showed “excessive and unwarranted” caution despite acknowledging subtle features that would be hard to forge. The case traces back to NMC Healthcare’s dramatic collapse in 2020. Once the UAE’s largest private healthcare provider, the company went into administration in April 2020 after revealing more than 33,000 crore rupees in hidden debt. The scandal began in December 2019 when investment firm Muddy Waters published a report highlighting financial irregularities. NMC Healthcare had been making regular loan repayments until January 2020 but defaulted on interest payments in February as the company unraveled. Shetty resigned as joint non-executive chairman on February 16, 2020. SBI issued formal demand notices to Shetty in April and May 2020, which he initially claimed never to have received. The bank filed a lawsuit in May 2020, but pandemic-related delays slowed proceedings. Shetty submitted his defense in October 2022. (With inputs from Gulf news)
