Pressure mounts as Finablr eyes for possible insolvency

INDIA born business tycoon BR Shetty’s Finablr has asked the advisers to prepare for a possible insolvency following secret financial deals within the company.

The owner of Travelex on Tuesday (17) said it has engaged with an accounting firm to undertake rapid contingency planning for a potential insolvency appointment with a view to maximising value in the group, according to to the media reports.

The latest developments have emerged after London listed firm uncovered£81 million of secret finance agreements following an internal investigation.

Finablr’s chief executive Promoth Manghat has left the business following the developments and its London shares have been suspended.

The accounting issue within the firm came into light just weeks after NMC Health - another company founded by UAE based BR Shetty witnessed a similar crisis.

Finablr board has been informed of cheques dating from before its London flotation in 2019 believed to total about £81m written by the business as security for loans which benefit third parties.

Finablr’s boss Manghat is expected to continue to support the company until the company gets a new replacement.

Manghat’s brother Prasanth was fired by NMC Health in February after $335m (£273m) of secret loan deals were found within the company.

The UK based company remains in discussions with its lenders about its financial position. Finablr is running increasingly short of cash and can no longer provide some payment processing services.

The two companies now are under investigation over secret financing deals.

In 2018, Finablr processed over 150 million transactions managing around $115 billion in volumes for its customers.

It has a direct presence in 45 countries through its licensed operations complemented by a network reach spanning 170 countries.

Last year, Finablr made $1.5bn of revenues and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $210m. It had net debt at the end of 2018 of $565bn.