BENGALURU: Dr B R Shetty, the
Dubai-based billionaire
founder of NMC Healthcare, whose fortunes have significantly diminished in recent times, has encountered a fresh setback.
Udupi-born Shetty, whose net worth was over $3 billion in 2019, racked up $4 billion in debt alleging artificially inflated financials of NMC through fraudulent loans, credit facilities, and fraudulent related-party round tripping transactions.
In a recent ruling, the
New York Supreme Court
has dismissed Shetty’s claim seeking damages amounting to $8 billion in favour of an alternative forum following motions submitted by defendants Bank of Baroda, Credit Europe Bank and EY.
The court decided the case in favour of Bank of Baroda and other defendants, dismissing the case based on the ground of forum non conveniens. The principle of forum non conveniens allows a court in the US to refuse to exercise its judicial authority when it determines that the court would be an inappropriate venue for the case, and when a suitable alternative court is available.
When TOI reached out to Shetty, he said, “We are disappointed and strongly disagree with the New York Commercial Division Court’s non-merits decision to dismiss the lawsuit in favour of an alternative forum, especially in light of the evidence my team submitted showing billions of dollars of
fraudulent transactions
being structured through Bank of Baroda’s New York branch,” he said in a statement to TOI.
Separately, Shetty told TOI that the case will be moved to the Abu Dhabi court.
