Founder of NMC Healthcare BR Shetty has filed a 15 billion dollar commercial suit against Bank of Baroda, alleging that bank officials helped former executives conceal debt, divert funds, and forge loan guarantees. The bank stated it has not yet received court papers and plans to defend its interests firmly against the claims. This legal action follows years of financial turmoil and regulatory scrutiny surrounding the collapse of Shetty's healthcare empire.

Founder of NMC Healthcare BR Shetty has filed a 15 billion dollar commercial suit against Bank of Baroda, alleging that bank officials helped former executives conceal debt, divert funds, and forge loan guarantees. The bank stated it has not yet received court papers and plans to defend its interests firmly against the claims. This legal action follows years of financial turmoil and regulatory scrutiny surrounding the collapse of Shetty's healthcare empire.

Founder of NMC Healthcare BR Shetty has filed a 15 billion dollar commercial suit against Bank of Baroda, alleging that bank officials helped former executives conceal debt, divert funds, and forge loan guarantees. The bank stated it has not yet received court papers and plans to defend its interests firmly against the claims. This legal action follows years of financial turmoil and regulatory scrutiny surrounding the collapse of Shetty's healthcare empire.

A commercial suit was filed against state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) by Bavaguthu Raghuram (BR) Shetty, founder of UAE-based healthcare provider NMC Healthcare, on Tuesday. Shetty sought $15 billion in damages from the bank and 25 other defendants.

The suit alleged that bank officials helped the former NMC executives, the Manghat brothers, conceal the company’s debt, divert funds and add Shetty as a loan guarantor using his forged signatures. Shetty’s firm was previously accused of financial mismanagement.

The bank responded to the claims on Wednesday, saying it did not receive any court papers.

“We wish to inform that Bank of Baroda has seen media reports of a suit said to have been filed by Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty in the Bombay High Court on 13th October, 2026. The Bank has not been served with such a suit and cannot comment on the contents of pleadings which are untested in court. If and when the Bank is served, the Bank will defend the suit firmly and take all steps necessary to protect its interests,” BoB said through an exchange filing.

According to an ET report, BoB said it was pursuing recovery and enforcement proceedings in India and the UAE against Shetty over outstanding dues of ₹2,800 crore, approximately $294.57 million

However, BoB had agreed to a settlement of about $600 million in June 2026 with the healthcare firm, after NMC administrators accused BoB of facilitating a round-tripping scandal. But the bank did not admit liability.

Why did BR Shetty file a case?

Born and raised in coastal Karnataka, BR Shetty was a UAE-based former billionaire and businessman who founded major enterprises such as NMC Health, UAE Exchange, Neopharma, and Finablr.

Shetty, a trained pharmacist, took the first leap into business with his healthcare major, NMC, in 1974. Over time, the company expanded to 45 medical facilities and became the first UAE healthcare firm listed on the London Stock Exchange.

He founded Neopharma, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company that partnered with major firms like Pfizer, Merck and Abbott Laboratories.

He later launched UAE Exchange and expanded into currency exchange by acquiring Travelex, which eventually became part of Finablr, a financial services holding company listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2019.

However, in December 2019, a US-based activist short-seller, Muddy Waters Research, accused NMC of inflating its cash reserves and hiding debt, which triggered regulatory scrutiny. In early 2020, NMC’s board publicly disclosed over $4 billion in debt.

The investigation revealed forged documents and unauthorised loans. Later, Shetty resigned from his positions at NMC Health. He maintained that he did not know about the hidden debts and blamed rogue executives.

Despite filing multiple counter-lawsuits, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court ordered Shetty to pay lenders, including State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.

However, in his latest suit against BoB, Shetty claimed he stepped away from NMC’s daily operations between 2012 and 2017 to pursue philanthropy. Using similar accusations behind BoB’s off-court settlements, Shetty alleged that in his absence, the Manghat brothers siphoned money through sham suppliers. He claimed BoB officials helped them set up accounts for the suppliers and in round-tripping money.

According to Bar and Bench, the bank was also alleged to have ignored over 100 internal anti-money laundering alerts and accepted luxury gifts to hide the group’s borrowing from statutory auditors. The bank allegedly split confirmation certificates to conceal nearly $250 million in debt from auditors Ernst & Young (EY).