NMC Founder BR Shetty Sues Bank Of Baroda For $15 Billion Over Alleged Fraud

Dr Bavaguthu Raghuram (B R) Shetty, founder of the NMC healthcare group and UAE Exchange, has filed a $15 billion (approximately ₹1.43 lakh crore) suit against Bank of Baroda and 25 others before the Bombay High Court, alleging that the bank facilitated a fraud that led to the collapse of his business empire.

Shetty has sought $5 billion each in direct and consequential damages, including loss of business opportunities, jointly and severally from all defendants. He has claimed a further $5 billion from Bank of Baroda alone for reputational damage and loss of business standing and goodwill.

He has also sought 18% annual interest on the damages.

The defendants include Bank of Baroda and 10 of its officials, former NMC executives Prasanth and Promoth Manghat, their wives, finance and treasury associates, and two Indian companies, Avitis Super Speciality Hospitals and SMARD Building Solutions. The suit alleges that the two companies hold assets acquired using diverted funds.

According to the plaint, Bank of Baroda was the group's principal banker through its Abu Dhabi and Dubai International Financial Centre branches until around 2019. Shetty alleges that the bank helped the Manghat brothers divert funds from NMC, UAE Exchange, Neopharma and Nexgen through sham supplier accounts, round-tripping and unauthorised transfers.

The bank allegedly ignored money-laundering alerts, extended loans without adequate security and concealed its lending from auditors. The plaint cites transactions involving supplier accounts linked to Silverline, Eurasian, Megafin, Summit, Delta and Bright Rise. It also alleges that around AED 42 million was transferred from a Guide General Contracting account to Prasanth Manghat as “incentives” between May 2018 and January 2019, despite compliance alerts.

Shetty claims he relinquished control of the group companies from 2012, stepped down as CEO in March 2017 and was never NMC's majority shareholder. He alleges that his signatures were forged and reproduced from a stored electronic template.

Reports by a graphologist dated July 2023 and October 2024 allegedly found signatures attributed to him to be forged.

The plaint further alleges that the bank acted on unauthorised instructions in Shetty's personal accounts, honoured forged cheques and routed group funds through his accounts to make him appear involved in the transactions. A report by Wise House Consultancy dated May 2020 allegedly found large-scale embezzlement, including through Guide General Contracting.

Shetty also accuses the bank of concealing liabilities from auditors. According to the plaint, only 11 of 15 balance confirmations signed for EY were provided to the auditor. The four withheld confirmations allegedly recorded liabilities of around AED 980 million. He claims a letter bearing his forged signature was subsequently used to retract those liabilities.

The suit challenges the bank's pursuit of guarantees attributed to Shetty and its role in securing a lookout circular (LOC) against him. Shetty alleges that the bank also obtained a UAE travel ban and initiated proceedings to restrain his properties.

In February 2024, the Karnataka High Court held that an LOC could not be issued at a bank's instance for civil recovery proceedings and permitted Shetty to travel after noting that his movement had been restricted for more than three-and-a-half years.

The suit follows Bank of Baroda's settlement of claims brought by NMC entities and their joint administrators before the Abu Dhabi Global Market courts. The bank disclosed in July 2026 that it had settled those claims for approximately $600 million (₹5,700 crore), without admitting liability or wrongdoing. Shetty was not a party to the settlement and contends that the bank cannot pursue him on guarantees arising from the same transactions.

Apart from damages, Shetty has sought accounts of money allegedly transferred on the basis of forged instructions and a decree directing the transfer of Indian assets acquired using those funds, including interests in Avitis and SMARD.

He has also sought disclosure of the assets, bank accounts, investments, properties and tax records of defendants 12 to 24, along with injunctions restraining them from disposing of assets. The suit seeks preservation and production of the bank's records, including KYC documents, compliance alerts, balance confirmations, whistleblower correspondence and LOC papers.

Shetty has further sought appointment of a court commissioner to copy electronic data, including emails, WhatsApp messages and electronic signature templates, without prior notice. The plaint alleges negligence, deceit, conspiracy, breach of the bank's duty of care and abuse of process.

The suit was filed through Advocates Zulfiquar Memon, Waseem Pangarkar, Abhishek Gupta and Chinmay Bambarkar i/b MZM Legal LLP