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Dubai court rejects billionaire’s claim of signature-forging contest

Updated Oct 15, 2025, 9:40am EDT
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B.R. Shetty during the unveiling of the UAE’s largest private sector hospital.
Emirates News Agency

The legal drama surrounding the collapse of Indian billionaire B.R. Shetty’s health care empire, NMC, took another turn.

A Dubai court ordered the 83-year-old to pay $46 million to State Bank of India, ruling that he lied under oath about personally guaranteeing a $50 million loan. In the judgment, Justice Andrew Moran called Shetty’s testimony “an incredible parade of lies,” which included a “bizarre” claim that NMC employees once held a contest to see who could best forge his signature.

Shetty was long heralded as a UAE success story, building NMC into the country’s biggest health care group — valued at more than $10 billion at its peak in 2018 — before it collapsed after a short seller report alleged the company had inflated its assets and hidden debts.

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