B. R. Shetty
Dr B.R. Shetty | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty 1 August 1942 |
| Known for | NMC Health (Founder; now defunct) Finablr (Founder; now defunct) |
| Honours | • Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2007) • Padma Sri (2009) |
| Website | www |
Dr Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, (born 1 August 1942) commonly known as B.R. Shetty, is an Indian-born businessman and former billionaire, the founder and acquirer of a number of companies based in the United Arab Emirates, including Abu Dhabi–based NMC Health, Neopharma, BRS Ventures, and Finablr.
In 1975, Shetty's interest was in hospitals and hospitality but he then diversified into pharmaceuticals, financial services, retail, advertising, and information technology. He was included on the Forbes list of India's 100 Richest People in 2015 and was listed as the 42nd richest person in 2019.
In 2020, Shetty resigned from his board position while investigations were underway. On 8 April 2020, NMC Health went into Administration in the United Kingdom due to corporate governance concerns and a share price in freefall. Due to sharp drops in share prices, and shares pledged by Shetty to pay for debts incurred, it is believed that his net worth has fallen to a fraction of the earlier estimate of $3.5 billion. Consequently, Forbes dropped Shetty from its 2020 annual list of billionaires.
On 15 April 2020, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank filed a criminal complaint against NMC Health with the Attorney General's Office of UAE. Now, Indian agencies have initiated probe to identify potential risks to Indian banks, if any. On 27 April 2020, the Central Bank of UAE ordered the freezing of his accounts and the blacklisting of his firms.