Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Wednesday responded to a lawsuit filed by NMC Healthcare group founder Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty seeking $15 billion in damages.
In an exchange filing, the bank said it had seen media reports of a suit said to have been filed by Shetty in the Bombay High Court on October 13, 2026. The bank said it had not been served with the suit and could not comment on the contents of the pleadings, which had not been tested in court. It added that if and when it was served, it would defend the suit firmly and take all necessary steps to protect its interests.
What’s the lawsuit about?
BR Shetty, founder of the NMC Healthcare group, filed a lawsuit in the Bombay High Court on Tuesday seeking $15 billion in damages from state-owned Bank of Baroda and 25 other defendants, alleging that the bank and former NMC executives enabled the diversion of funds, concealed liabilities and subsequently pursued him on guarantees bearing forged signatures.
Shetty has sought $5 billion each in direct and consequential damages against the defendants jointly and severally, and a further $5 billion from BoB for alleged reputational damage and loss of goodwill. He has also sought interest at 18 per cent a year. The suit names BoB and 10 of its officers, whom Shetty alleges hold assets acquired using diverted funds.
According to the lawsuit, Shetty relinquished control of the group companies in 2012 and stepped down as chief executive officer in March 2017. He alleges that he learnt only in early 2020 that he remained NMC’s chairman, following which he resigned. The lawsuit claims that former executives used forged instructions and signatures to route funds through personal and corporate accounts, making it appear that he was involved in the transactions.
The suit also alleges that BoB ignored repeated anti-money laundering (AML) alerts, extended credit without adequate security, facilitated transactions through supplier accounts allegedly used for round-tripping and concealed its lending exposure from auditors. It also accuses certain bank officials of accepting gifts and failing to act on warning signs despite internal scrutiny. These allegations have not been established in court.
One of the key allegations concerns balance confirmations prepared for auditor EY. According to the lawsuit, 15 confirmations were prepared, but only 11 reached the auditor. Shetty has also challenged BoB’s pursuit of guarantees attributed to him, maintaining that the signatures were forged and that the bank continued to rely on them despite allegedly becoming aware of the concealment of liabilities.
In July 2026, BoB agreed to pay $600 million to settle litigation arising from the collapse of NMC Health, bringing an end to years of cross-border legal proceedings linked to one of West Asia’s biggest corporate failures. Under the settlement agreement, NMC Health, NMC Healthcare, NMC Holding and their joint administrators resolved all claims and causes of action against Bank of Baroda without any admission of liability or wrongdoing by the lender.
