NMC Health (NMC) looks set to enter administration, having failed to convince creditors that it was worth saving after finding billions in hidden debt.
The United Arab Emirates-based company has been in turmoil since December, when hedge fund Muddy Waters alleged the board had misled investors over its debt levels and had poor governance structures.
Earlier this week, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank applied to the UK High Court for the company to be handed over to administrators and the company has said it would not fight the move. NMC has continued to operate during the Covid-19 pandemic.
There had been talk of a buyout, although this came to an end when the company revealed massive fraud, which was much worse than anything alleged by Muddy Waters. The company has admitted there were huge loans taken out without the approval of the rest of the board.
At the end of February, NMC said its founder BR Shetty and fellow former major shareholders Saeed al-Qebaisi and Khalifa al-Muhairi had used supply chain financing without the board's knowledge, although did not directly link the group or entities connected to them to all of the debt fraud.
Dr Shetty had already resigned from the board at that point after admitting he did not know how many shares he owned in NMC, while Mr al-Qebaisi and Mr al-Muhairi sold out towards the end of March. They passed on their 9 per cent holding to new executive chairman Faisal Belhoul.
DR Shetty is also linked to fellow London-listed company Finablr (FIN).
