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Dr B.R. Shetty, CEO of NMC Healthcare Group, looks forward to the opportunity for new investors to share in the success of the company in other parts of the world where he hopes to take the brand

Indian court prevents UAE-based NMC’s founder B.R. Shetty from selling ’certain’ assets

Former billionaire has been engaged in legal battles on several fronts

Dubai: A commercial court in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru has temporarily restrained Shetty from selling certain assets following a petition filed by Commercial Bank of Dubai, according to an order dated August 14 and reported by Bloomberg

This is the second time a court in India has weighed in with restrictions on Dr. Shetty in any plan he may have to sell off any assets.

A Dubai court too had recently undertaken such a move as creditors exert pressure on him over loans taken by companies he had founded.

Legal sources say that the fact that a UAE bank is pursuing its case in India will mean more trouble for Shetty, the founder of NMC as well as Finablr, the holding company for UAE Exchange.

“Banks, UAE and those based elsewhere, clearly are in no mood to tackle it solely at the UAE level,” said a banker. “Shetty is in India, and he’s been there for some time. Banks are no longer willing for him to make up his mind when to return.

“Taking the case to India shows intent. Shetty has ample assets in his home country, both personal and business, including stakes in hospitals.”

NMC is pursuing its own future, and one which has no bearing with the man that had played a central role through the decades since its formation in the mid-1970s, its listing on the London Stock Exchange, and its crowning as the biggest private healthcare operator in the Middle East,

And then the fall, brought on by multi-billion dollar loans that were never even entered into the company’s books.

On Monday, Shetty formally stepped down as co-chairman of Finablr. “It’s purely an academic move – everything and everyone have long since moved on,” said an employee.