The UK’s markets regulator censured fallen Middle Eastern hospital operator NMC Health Plc, saying the once-FTSE100 listed firm misled investors about its debt position by as much as $4 billion.
The Financial Conduct Authority didn’t levy a fine, saying that any penalty would reduce the funds available for creditors. The regulator said the healthcare operator used dual sets of accounting records, but repeatedly published financial statements that understated its debts to the tune of billions of dollars.
“The concealment of NMC’s debt position and subsequent collapse has left creditors including investors out of pocket,” said Steve Smart, the FCA’s Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight.
NMC collapsed into administration in April 2020 just two years after its market value had soared to around £8.6 billion ($10.7 billion). Once a top- performing stock, the shares of the company founded by Indian entrepreneur Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty plunged before trading was suspended amid allegations of fraud.
The case has triggered investigations and lawsuits and dragged in auditors Ernst & Young who are accused of turning a blind eye to multiple misstatements. The auditor, now known as EY, has denied the allegations.
The FCA said it was satisfied that there “was knowledge within NMC at a sufficiently senior level” that the published information was false or misleading.
