From a man who created an overseas business empire with just $8 to a person under scanner from investigative agencies across the globe, life has taken a full circle for Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty. The man, who finds all his accounts frozen by the Central Bank of UAE and firms blacklisted, was at one time the poster boy of the Gulf dream for thousands of Indians toiling in the Middle-East.

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The rag to riches story

Legend says Shetty, founder of Abu Dhabi-based NMC Health and UAE Exchange arrived initially in the UAE with just $8 in his pocket. Starting as a medical representative in 1973, the Udupi native soon saw his fortunes rise and in just two years, he found his own medical firm, New Medical Centre Health (NMC). Aimed at providing affordable and personalised healthcare to all, the firm soon emerged as the largest private healthcare provider in the UAE.

Five years later, Shetty established the UAE Exchange, with the aim of helping expats in the process of sending money to their home countries. With branches across 31 countries, UAE Exchange helped Shetty not only in expanding his empire but also made him a known face among the large expat population of Middle-East. This was followed by the founding of NMC Neopharma, a UAE-based pharmaceutical manufacturer in 2003. Shetty further expanded his business empire by establishing hospital facilities across the globe.

These ventures soon saw Shetty emerge as one of the wealthiest Indians making him part of the Forbes rich list on many occasions.

However, Shetty’s presence was not just limited to business. A former activist of Jan Sangh, he played a crucial role in organising Narendra Modi’s much famous trip to Abu Dhabi. Shetty was honoured with several awards including Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2007, the Abu Dhabi Awards in 2005 and Padmashree in 2009.

Fall from grace

The downfall of Shetty started when doubts emerged about NMC’s debt position and the size of Shetty’s stake in it. This prompted NMC to revised its debt position to $6.6 billion, well above the June estimates of $2.1 billion.

Finablr, in which Shetty has a controlling stake, said last month it was preparing for potential insolvency, while operations of its UAE unit were seized by the central bank. Shetty soon resigned as NMC’s non-executive chairman and as a board member in February and found himself dropped from the Forbes annual list of billionaires.

Soon worst followed with NMC Health going into administration in UK due to the insolvency of the company over alleged frauds committed by Shetty. He soon fled UAE, but the damage was done. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank filed criminal complaint against NMC Health followed by a probe by Indian agencies over possible risks to Indian banks.

First Published:Apr 28, 2020 6:54 PM IST