Bank of Baroda (BoB) has responded to a massive $15 billion lawsuit filed by Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, the founder of the troubled NMC Healthcare group, in the Bombay High Court. In an official exchange filing, the state-owned lender stated that while it has noted media reports regarding the legal action, it has not yet been formally served with the suit and therefore cannot comment on the untested pleadings, though it intends to defend its interests vigorously if summoned. Shetty’s lawsuit names BoB, ten of its officers, and 15 other defendants, demanding $5 billion each in direct and consequential damages, along with another $5 billion specifically from BoB for alleged reputational damage and loss of goodwill, plus an annual interest rate of 18 per cent. The legal filing alleges that the bank and former executives enabled significant fund diversions, concealed liabilities, and pursued Shetty using personal guarantees bearing forged signatures. According to the lawsuit, Shetty claims he relinquished operating control of the group companies as early as 2012 and stepped down as chief executive officer in March 2017, only discovering in early 2020 that his name remained tied to the organization as chairman before he subsequently resigned. The complaint further asserts that former executives utilized forged instructions to route money through personal and corporate accounts, creating a false impression of his involvement in illicit transactions. Furthermore, the lawsuit accuses BoB of ignoring multiple anti-money laundering alerts, extending unsecure credit, facilitating round-tripping through supplier accounts, concealing lending exposure from auditors, and failing to act on warning signs despite internal scrutiny, alongside specific contentions that balance confirmations prepared for auditor EY were manipulated. Shetty has explicitly challenged the legitimacy of the guarantees pursued by the bank, maintaining that his signatures were fabricated and that BoB continued relying on them despite awareness of hidden liabilities. This fresh legal escalation follows a significant development in July 2026, when BoB agreed to a $600 million settlement to resolve years of cross-border litigation stemming from the catastrophic collapse of NMC Health—one of West Asia’s largest corporate failures—though that settlement resolved claims without any admission of liability or wrongdoing by the lender.
BoB Responds to BR Shetty’s $15 Billion Lawsuit Over NMC Healthcare Collapse
