MUSCAT : This comes following a verdict that branded his defence as an “incredible parade of lies, of confusing and inconsistent inventions and denials…”

In a damning judgment delivered on October 8, Justice Andrew Moran found that Shetty repeatedly lied under oath about signing a personal guarantee for a $50 million loan issued to NMC Healthcare. The judge concluded that Shetty’s testimony during the September 29 trial was “incoherent and nonsensical.”

The core of the case was a personal guarantee Shetty allegedly signed in December 2018. Shetty had vehemently denied signing the document, claiming the signature was forged and even denying ever meeting the SBI CEO who witnessed it.

Justice Moran unequivocally rejected these claims. “I am bound to find that there is overwhelming witness and documentary evidence before me, which satisfies me that Mr Shetty has come before this Court and lied on oath in his multiple denials that he signed the Personal Guarantee, the Corporate Guarantee and the Facility Sanction letter,” the judge stated in his 70-paragraph ruling.

The court awarded the state-run Indian bank a total of $45,997,554.59, which includes interest accrued up to the judgment date, with a further 9% annual interest penalty until the full sum is paid.

The judgment highlighted several instances where Shetty’s denials were directly contradicted by evidence:
• While Shetty initially denied all knowledge of the loan, he was forced to admit under cross-examination that he was aware of the facility. Crucially, the court cited an email from his personal account, sent in May 2020, where he explicitly acknowledged ongoing discussions about his guarantee and requested documents for review.

• SBI CEO Anantha Shenoy testified that he travelled to NMC’s Abu Dhabi offices on December 25, 2018, specifically to witness Shetty sign the document. This testimony was supported by a detailed report and photographs.

• In one of the most bizarre claims, Shetty suggested that NMC employees held competitions to see who could best copy his signature.

The court also preferred the testimony of the bank’s handwriting expert, who found very strong evidence that Shetty wrote the signature, dismissing Shetty’s expert who exhibited “excessive and unwarranted” caution.

The case stems from the dramatic 2020 collapse of NMC Healthcare, which was placed into administration after revealing over $4 billion in hidden debt.

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