BR Shetty files $15bn claim against Bank of Baroda in Bombay High Court

Centre · 2BR Shetty, founder of NMC Health and UAE Exchange, has filed a $15 billion claim in the Bombay High Court against Bank of Baroda and 25 other defendants, according to a court filing reviewed by Reuters. 1 2 Centre · 2Gulf News says the suit was filed on Tuesday; Reuters reported that Bank of Baroda shares fell 2.6 per cent that day after the legal action was reported. 1 2 Centre · 1Shetty alleges that bank officials enabled round-tripping transactions, ignored repeated anti-money laundering warnings and accepted documents bearing forged signatures, helping facilitate a fraud that contributed to NMC's collapse. 2

Centre · 1Gulf News adds that, per the filing, the bank was NMC group's principal banker until around 2019, its systems generated more than 100 money-laundering alerts that were closed, and Shetty says he faces repayment demands under personal guarantees he never signed. 1 Centre · 1The defendants include 10 bank officials, former NMC executives Prasanth Manghat and Promoth Manghat, their associates and two Indian companies. 1 Centre · 2He seeks $5 billion in direct damages, $5 billion in consequential damages and $5 billion for reputational harm, plus 18 per cent annual interest, disclosure of bank records, preservation of evidence and interim restrictions on certain defendants dealing with assets in India; Gulf News notes these are demands, not awards, and that the court has not been reported to have granted the interim requests. 1 2

Centre · 1In a stock exchange notification on Wednesday, Bank of Baroda said it had not been served, could not comment on pleadings untested in court, and would defend the suit firmly if served. 2 Centre · 1The bank said it is pursuing recovery and enforcement proceedings in India and the UAE against Shetty for about 28 billion rupees ($294.5 million) in dues and has obtained several decrees against him; it said it faces no immediate liability unless an order is passed or it must make a provision for potential damages. 2 Centre · 1According to Gulf News, the bank also cited a 2021 Karnataka High Court order restraining Shetty from disposing of assets, his later insolvency claim before the National Company Law Tribunal, and a New York lawsuit with similar allegations that was dismissed in July 2024. 1

Centre · 1The suit comes after Bank of Baroda agreed to pay $600 million to settle claims by NMC group companies and their joint administrators, in an agreement dated 1 July 2026; Shetty argues he was not a party to it and that it does not extinguish his claims, while the filing says it involved no admission of liability. 1 Centre · 1NMC, once the Gulf's largest private healthcare provider, entered administration in 2020 after disclosing debts of $6.6 billion against earlier estimates of $2.1 billion; representatives for Shetty did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. 2