DIFC Court Orders BR Shetty to Pay SBI ₹381 Crore, Judge Slams His Testimony as "Parade of Lies"
The founder of the defunct NMC Healthcare business, BR Shetty, was found to have repeatedly misled under oath for a $50 million loan by a Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) court.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) October 16: The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) court discovered that BR Shetty, the founder of the now-defunct NMC Healthcare enterprise, had repeatedly lied under oath. It was about issuing a personal guarantee for a loan. The court ordered him to pay 381 crore rupees to the State Bank of India (SBI).
Court Ruling Against Shetty
During the trial on September 29, Justice Andrew Moran called Shetty's evidence "incoherent and nonsensical". The judge described his testimony as "an incredible parade of lies" before delivering the verdict on October 8.
The ruling gives SBI, a state-owned Indian bank, $45,997,554.59, plus interest up to the judgment date. Interest will keep coming in at a rate of 9% annually until the money is paid.
Loan Guarantee Dispute
The case addressed whether Shetty had personally guaranteed a loan of 415 crore rupees to NMC Healthcare in December 2018. Shetty had repeatedly maintained that the signature was fake and that he had never met the CEO of the bank.
Shetty first denied knowing about the lending facility during the hearings. But when he was shown an email he sent in May 2020 indicating conversations with the bank over the guarantee, he eventually acknowledged knowing about it.
Shetty’s Denials Exposed
Anantha Shenoy is the CEO of the bank. He stated in his testimony that on December 25, 2018, he went to NMC's Abu Dhabi offices to see Shetty sign the guarantee. Shenoy showed pictures and a thorough meeting report from January 13, 2019. The photo shows Shetty greeting the head of the bank for the loan.
Shetty made an effort to deny the images, saying the meeting was only for networking. The judge dismissed these justifications. He stated that Shetty's efforts to damage Shenoy's testimony amounted to "false and discreditable manoeuvring". This is to avoid responsibility.
Collapse of NMC Healthcare
The case comes from the shocking downfall of NMC Healthcare in 2020. It was once the biggest private healthcare provider in the United Arab Emirates. The company went into administration in April 2020 after it was discovered that it had undisclosed debt of more than 33,000 crore rupees. The incident started in December 2019 when a report exposing financial irregularities was released by investment firm Muddy Waters.
Up until January 2020, NMC Healthcare was making loan payments on time. However, as the business failed, it stopped paying interest in February. On February 16, 2020, Shetty stepped down as joint non-executive chairman.
Shetty first denied ever seeing the official demand notices that SBI sent him in April and May 2020. In May 2020, the bank filed a lawsuit, but the process was held down by pandemic-related delays. The defense was turned in by Shetty in October 2022.
