Once, while giving an interview, B. Raghuram Shetty said, “If I don’t have one problem a day, that’s not a good day for me. I should have a problem, solve it, and then feel satisfied.”
One must be very careful about what one wishes for, for wishes do come true. At the time of the interview, B.R. Shetty did not have an iota of doubt that there is an entire ocean of problems waiting for him.
And his wishes have come terribly true. After being ranked once among the 100 Richest by Forbes (no. 42), Shetty is being put on run by the UAE-based banks for non-payment and had to sell his flagship company UAE Exchange for just one dollar with the buyer taking over the entire dues.
Shetty made his fortune in the UAE healthcare industry when he set up National Medical Centre (NMC) which grew exponentially in no time.
A pharmacist by training, BR Shetty’s story is nothing short of a miraculous tale. Born to a family in coastal Karnataka, he entered the United Arab Emirates with $8 in his pockets. He reached his peak in 2018 with his net worth at $5.2 billion, becoming the chairman of the biggest healthcare provider. NMC was the only Abu Dhabi based company listed in the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
His political connection always remained the talk of the town. Before moving to UAE, he was active in Jan Sangh and has even organized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s event in Abu Dhabi.
BR Shetty like his father served the Municipal Council of Udupi early in his teen years. Although his father was a Congress loyalist, Shetty was drawn towards the then-popular leader and later India’s Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who he used to drive in his car whenever he visited their area.
Not only this, but he was also backed by the royal families of the UAE. In fact, Deputy PM of UAE, Sheikh Al Nayan had once invested in one of Shetty’s companies.
The first rumblings of financial trouble came in December 2019 when an American investment firm published a damning report on NMC’s finances. NMC’s shares plummeted by 48 percent, wiping $1.5bn off the Shetty family fortune.
In April 2020, NMC Health went into administration in the United Kingdom for insolvency. Later that month, the UAE Central Bank ordered the seizure of all of Shetty and his family’s assets that include properties at the famous Palm Jumeirah, Dubai World Trade Centre, and two floors in Burj Khalifa.
The report mentioned that NMC health had understated its debt by $4.5 billion. His financial firm Finablr that owns UAE Exchange found that $100 million worth of cheques were issued without the board’s knowledge.
The reason behind the sudden downfall is still a mystery but reports have claimed that his relations with powerful people in the kingdoms of the Middle East could probably be the one reason behind it. There were some reports that these high net-worth royal partners (read hidden partners) withdrew their investments from his company but still there are no explanations that led to the sudden crashing of his empire.
Meanwhile, according to sources close to Shetty who is in Mangaluru without being able to fly back to UAE due to flight restrictions, is in no mood of giving up. He is said to be preparing to bounce back by contesting the case in the court in the desert nation.
