Bank of Baroda paid $600M to settle NMC Health claims — without admitting fault

Bank of Baroda agreed to pay $600 million — about ₹5,700 crore — to settle claims by the joint administrators of collapsed UAE healthcare group NMC Health, ending the lender's involvement in one of the largest overseas litigation cases fought by an Indian state-run bank. The ADGM trial had begun on March 23, 2026; before judgment could be delivered, the bank settled, capping its liability and discontinuing both the Abu Dhabi and English proceedings — while asserting there was no admission of liability or wrongdoing.

The case stems from NMC's 2020 collapse after short-seller Muddy Waters questioned its financial statements; investigations uncovered more than $4 billion of previously undisclosed debt, forcing the London-listed group into administration. The administrators sued NMC founder B.R. Shetty, former CEO Prasanth Manghat and Bank of Baroda over the losses. Shetty has long alleged senior BoB officials colluded with the Manghat brothers — forged signatures, false accounts, evergreened loans — allegations that remain contested, unestablished in court, and consistently denied by the bank.

The settlement contrasts sharply with the bank's own FY26 annual report, which said that on legal advice it believed it had a good chance of successfully defending the proceedings and therefore made no provision, treating the claim as a contingent liability. "If they have not done anything wrong, tell me why should they be even paying $1?… They're paying $600 million, that's a big amount," Shetty told Mint.

The bank settled weeks after the trial concluded with judgment reserved — the point where both sides can best price their risk of an adverse verdict.

Its FY26 report had booked no provision for the litigation, so the payout landed as an unbudgeted hit to a state-owned lender's capital.

Prolonged litigation, uncertainty and legal costs were the bank's stated reasons; Shetty's counsel read the timing as avoidance of a much larger adverse judgment.

Litigation confidence in an annual report is not a balance-sheet fact: when the verdict is days away, a 'strong case' can still be worth $600 million to settle.

The $600 million goes to NMC's administration estate for distribution to creditors rather than to Shetty personally; proceedings against Shetty and former NMC executives continue separately. Claims against audit firm EY also remain among the administrators' key recovery actions, according to their May 15, 2026 progress report.