U T Khader registers fourth straight victory in Mangaluru, knocks down BJP, JD(S), MEP

Dubai, Jul 25: The founder of NMC Health, BR Shetty, has had a worldwide freezing order placed on his assets at the request of a lender that claims he has defaulted on a loan of more than $8 million (Dh29.4m).

The order was granted to Credit Europe Bank (Dubai) last month ahead of a claim filed at the DIFC Courts against Mr Shetty, New Medical Centre Trading and NMC Healthcare.

The lender said in its claim they “are jointly and severally liable” for the repayment of money initially secured through a credit agreement in December 2013 and renegotiated in December last year. Credit Europe Bank is an Amsterdam-headquartered institution specialising in trade and commodities finance with operations in nine countries.

The credit agreement was guaranteed by two security cheques which the bank said in its claim were signed by Mr Shetty – one drawn on his personal account and another on the account of New Medical Centre Trading – that have been "dishonoured upon presentation due to insufficient funds".

The bank claimed Mr Shetty “has now fled the jurisdiction of the UAE to India” and that there was a risk of his “substantial” assets in the Emirates being dissipated.

The assets frozen include properties in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as well as shares in NMC Health, Finablr, BRS Investment Holdings and other companies. It allows for up to $7,000 per week to be spent on “ordinary living expenses and reasonable sum[s] on legal advice and representation”, a DIFC Courts document granting the freezing order shows.

Credit Europe Bank declined to comment when contacted by The National, stating it does not comment on ongoing litigation proceedings. Representatives for Mr Shetty and for NMC Healthcare, which is now being run by administrators Alvarez & Marsal, also declined to comment.

NMC Healthcare was founded by Mr Shetty in 1975 and grew from a single hospital into the UAE’s biggest privately-owned healthcare operator, which employed 2,000 doctors and 20,000 other staff. The company was listed on the London stock exchange and at its peak was valued at £8.58 billion (Dh40bn). However, its shares slumped after short seller Muddy Waters Research issued a report in December 2019 alleging the company had inflated its cash balances, overpaid for assets and understated its debts. This led to a string of damaging revelations by the company, including the fact that its debt was materially higher – at $6.6bn – than the $2.1bn on its balance sheet. NMC Healthcare was placed into administration in April by its biggest creditor, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, but its UAE businesses continue to trade as a going concern.

Mr Shetty said in a statement issued in April that he has been a victim of fraud committed by "a small group of current and former executives” at companies owned by him. He said bank accounts were created in his name and transactions were made without his knowledge, and that loans, cheques and bank transfers were also fraudulently guaranteed in his name using his forged signature.

In response to the claim filed by Credit Europe Bank (Dubai) at the DIFC Courts, Mr Shetty says he did not personally guarantee loans made to NMC Trading or NMC Healthcare and that the signatures used on cheques guaranteeing the loans are forgeries. His defence cites the opinion of “Dr Al Bah, an independent, experienced and qualified forensic document examiner”, that someone other than Mr Shetty signed the lending agreements and cheques.

An application by NMC Trading and NMC Healthcare to the DIFC Courts to have the claim against it heard in private for fear of triggering claims by other lenders – the group owes money to around 80 local, regional and international lenders – was dismissed, given that the appointment of administrators at the group and allegations of fraud at the company are already in the public domain.

Both companies have indicated to DIFC Courts that they intend to contest the claim against them.

Bengaluru, Feb 22: President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday said an ideal trade-off needs to be reached between new media -- which is fast and popular -- and traditional media which has developed skills to authenticate a news report, which is a costly operation.

Addressing the fourth edition of ‘the Huddle’ – the annual thought conclave of the Hindu here, he asserted that the internet and social media had democratised journalism and revitalised democracy, but had also led to many anxieties.

While the new media was fast and popular and people could choose what they wanted to watch, hear or read, traditional media would have to introspect on its role in society and find ways to earn the reader’s full trust again as "the project of democracy was incomplete without informed citizens – which means, without unbiased journalism."

Debate and discussion were internalised in India’s social psyche to arrive at truth since time immemorial, he said.

"There is no doubt that perception of truth is conditioned by circumstances. The conditions that cloud the truth’s positions are effectively dispelled by a contestation of ideas through debate, discussion and scientific temper. Prejudices and violence vitiate the search for truth."

Expressing happiness to attend ‘The Huddle’ organised by The Hindu, he said the Hindu group of publications had been relentlessly aiming to capture the essence of this great country through its responsible and ethical journalism. He commended them for their insistence on sticking to the five basic principles of journalism – truth-telling, freedom and independence, justice, humaneness and contributing to the social good, an official release here said.

Mr Kovind said dogmas and personal prejudices distorted the truth. In the 150th year of Gandhiji’s birth, he asked all to ponder over this question: "will it not be proper to pursue truth itself as the ideology? Gandhiji has shown us the path by walking ceaselessly in search of truth which would ultimately encompass every positive attribute that enriches the universe."

Bengaluru, Apr 8: A 65-year-old man from Kalaburagi district became the fifth COVID-19 fatality in Karnataka, where six new positive cases were confirmed, pushing the tally in the state to 181, the health department said on Wednesday.

The man with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), died at a designated hospital in Kalaburagi on Tuesday, a day after being shifted from a private hospital where he was initially treated for two days.

"On April 4, he had got admitted to a private hospital, on April 6 he was shifted to ESI hospital, where he passed away," Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar told reporters here.

The private hospital had been locked and its entire medical team quarantined, he said, adding a notice had been served on it for act of "criminal negligence" (by not referring the patient to designated hospital) and will be followed with a police case.

"He was suffering from SARI, on collecting his sample, tests have revealed that he was positive....investigation is on to find how he got infected," the Minister said.

Noting that the hospital in this case did not refer the patient to the designated hospital and kept treating him for two days, he appealed to all private healthcare facilities to inform authorities if anyone showed any indications for COVID-19.

"As of 5 PM on April 8, cumulatively 181 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, it includes 5 deaths and 28 discharges," the health department said in a bulletin.

Out of the positive cases, 71 are those who had come back from foreign countries, while remaining 110 are contacts and those who had gone to Delhi, the Minister said.

Kumar also said an expert committee comprising Narayana Health founder-chairman Dr Devi Prasad Shetty and Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences director Dr C N Manjunath among others, constitutedto devise an exit strategy for the lockdown, has submitted its reports with various recommendations to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

The chief minister and officials were examining it which was likely to come up before the cabinet meeting on Thursday after which the details will be shared, he added.

The health department said the six fresh cases reported on Wednesday included the elderly man from Kalaburagi who died.

Among the positive cases are a woman from Uttara Kannada with history of SARI and contact of a Dubai returnee, a 72- year-old woman from Kalaburagi, who is mother of a patient that tested positive for the disease; a man from Mandya with contact to two patients.

Others include a man from Chikkaballapura with travel history to Delhi and a woman from Bengaluru also with a travel history to the national capital.

Contact tracing is in progress for all the cases, the bulletin added.

The department said out of 148 active cases in the state, 146 COVID-19 positive patients (including 1 pregnant woman) are in isolation at designated hospitals are stable and two in ICU (one each on oxygen and ventilators).

It said out of total 181 cases in the state, six are transit passengers of Kerala.

Bengaluru accounted for the highest in the state with 63 cases, followed by Mysuru (35), Dakshina Kannada (12) Bidar (ten), Uttara Kannada and Kalaburagi (9 each), Chikkaballapur (8) Belagavi (7), Ballari (6), Bagalkote (5), Mandya (4) Davangere, Bengaluru Rural and Udupi (three each), and Kodagu, Tumakuru, Gadag and Dharwad one each.

Those discharged include 16 from Bengaluru, four from Dakshina Kannada, two each from Uttara Kannada, Kalaburagi and Davangere, and one from Bengaluru Rural; while among those dead are two from Kalaburgari and one each are reported from Bengaluru, Bagalkote and Tumakuru.