Seven months ago, Indian tycoon B.R. Shetty stepped down as co-chairman of NMC Health, a healthcare giant he founded, amid allegations of financial malpractice.
At one point of time, NMC Health had a valuation of $10 billion on the London Stock Exchange. Shetty himself had a net worth of $3.15 billion in 2019. But fortunes of NMC Health nosedived since December after a US investment firm alleged NMC Health inflated cash balances and understated its debt.
On Friday, UAE-based Gulf News reported that NMC Health had terminated the employment of Dr Chandrakumari Shetty, B.R. Shetty's wife.
Chandrakumari Shetty, a doctor, was not only group medical director of NMC Healthcare; she was the first employee of the company when her husband founded it in the mid-1970s.
NMC Health subsequently expanded to operate around 200 hospitals and clinics in 19 countries.
Gulf News quoted Michael Davis, CEO of NMC Health, as saying “Dr. C.R. Shetty previously served as the medical director for NMC Healthcare, but was not involved in the financial dealings of the company. The last salary was paid in February. As of March, she is no longer active in her role.”
Gulf News reported Chandrakumari was earning a monthly salary in excess of UAE Dirham 200,000 (approximately Rs 40,12,000). Gulf News quoted a source as saying, “There were negotiations going on with Dr. Chandrakumari for her to step down voluntarily. I don’t think those worked. Being the founder’s wife or the first-ever employee don’t matter at this point.”
The news of Chandrakumari being removed comes as NMC Health continues a restructuring process after it was declared bankrupt. It was estimated the company had an undisclosed debt of $6.6 billion.
Bloomberg reported earlier last month that the consultancy fees for NMC Health's restructuring was about $140 million. The company was planning to raise about $300 million from creditors during the period it was under administration.
B.R. Shetty had consistently denied any wrongdoing and involvement in malpractice. However, there have been reports NMC Health had paid millions of Dirhams to failed business ventures of his daughters.
The Times newspaper in the UK reported this week that Davis had told a Dubai court that the fraud at NMC Health had taken place over a period of at least eight years and thousands of documents had been destroyed, hampering the ongoing investigation.
