On Thursday Fortis healthcare’s executive chairman, Malvinder Mohan Singh, and his younger brother who is also a non-executive vice-chairman, Shivinder Mohan Singh resigned from their posts. Both Brothers tendered their resignation from the directorships of the Fortis healthcare. Fortis gave information to the media that, “The resignation was circulated to the board and the board at the meeting on February 13, has decided to discuss the matter in detail”. However, the brothers wrote in their joint resignation letter to the board of directors “We both believe that this is in the interest of propriety and good governance. whatsoever that may be linked to the Promoters, it is intended to free the organization from any encumbrances.”
Their resignation from the Fortis board happens days after when on 31 January Delhi High Court upheld an international arbitration case award of Rs. 3,500 crore to Japanese drugmaker company, Daiichi Sankyo against both of them. Moreover, the Malvinder and Shivinder Singh said they are resigning to ensure the company is insulated from this ongoing legal fight.
According to people who aware of this matter, the Singh billionaire brothers could have found a buyer for famous Fortis healthcare, which would infuse money so that they could pay off the lenders. The Singh brothers were also the founders and the owner of the big pharmaceutical company, “Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd“. According to the reports, In 2008, they sold their stakes to a Japanese drugmaker for $2.4 billion. Shivinder Mohan Singh and his brother Malvinder Mohan Singh founded Fortis Healthcare in the late 1990s.
Justice Jayant Nath upheld the April 2016 award by an arbitration tribunal in Singapore which had ruled in favour of Japanese Daiichi. Apart from that, the arbitration tribunal, in damages directed the Singh brothers to pay about Rs 2,563 crore, and also the 4.44 percent of interest per year from 7 November 2008 till the date of the award.
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