BR Shetty, founder of NMC Healthcare and UAE Exchange, has filed a $15 billion lawsuit against Bank of Baroda, alleging fraud, forged signatures, and money-laundering alerts ignored by the bank.

He has launched the legal claim against the bank and 25 other defendants as well, alleging their involvement in enabling fraud concerning his businesses, leaving him to face repayment demands under guarantees he ‘never signed’.

Shetty filed the suit in the Bombay High Court, which reviewed the court filing.

His allegations include forged signatures, disputed transfers and repeated money-laundering alerts that he claims the bank failed to act on.

Bank of Baroda responded to the allegations, saying it had not been served with the suit and that the allegations remained untested in court. The lender said it would defend itself firmly, while continuing recovery proceedings against Shetty for approximately Rs. 28 billion in outstanding dues.

Once the Gulf’s largest private healthcare provider, NMC Health entered administration in 2020.

A significant aspect of Shetty’s case is about personal guarantees and other documents that according to him carried forged signatures. In his filing he has stated that the bank relied on those documents to pursue him without properly verifying their authenticity.

Shetty also alleged that certain account instructions and transfers were unauthorised. He has asked the court to require disclosure of transaction instructions, account-opening documents, customer-verification records and details of officials who handled or verified transfers.

According to the filing, 26 defendants, including Bank of Baroda, 10 of its officials, former NMC executives Prasanth Manghat and Promoth Manghat, their associates, and two Indian companies, have been named in the suit. – editor@nrifocus.com