The dark side of B.R. Shetty

Is the fraud-accused owner of Abu Dhabi-headquartered NMC Health innocent or guilty? Either way, his much-lauded businesses have a murky past.

In August 2015, the mood at the cricket stadium in Dubai was electric. After 34 years, an Indian prime minister was visiting the United Arab Emirates and over 50,000 cheering emigrants had gathered to hear Narendra Modi speak. Inviting him on stage was B.R. Shetty, the most successful Indian entrepreneur in the Middle East, who built his fortunes in healthcare and financial services. Few, however, knew of him in India. That was just about to change.

A little over a year later, in December 2016, at his electoral constituency in Varanasi, Modi announced that Shetty was going to set up …

Author

T Surendar

Surendar helps lead the newsroom at The Morning Context as executive editor. Over the years, Surendar has worked in industries from pharmaceuticals to diamonds, as well as a stint as an equity analyst. In his long career as a business journalist, he has led teams at The Times of India, India Today and Fortune India. He was part of the founding team at Forbes India and interned at and published in The Times, London.

Executive Editor

surendar@mailtmc.com

Mumbai