Finablr names CEO as $300M defaults by group firm unfold

dubai— Finablr, the crisis-torn financial services holding company, announced on Wednesday the appointment of Bhairav Trivedi as chief executive officer amid reports of defaults of $300 million of foreign-exchange loans by UAE Exchange — the flagship remittance network of the London-listed company.

Michael Tomalin, co-chairman and Chairman of the Nomination Committee of Finablr, which comprises UAE Exchange, Travelex, Unimoni and Remit2India, said Bhairav has joined the board of directors “with immediate effect.”

“He is an experienced business professional with over 25 years senior management experience in strategy, sales, marketing, business development and operations in the financial services sector, with deep domain expertise in emerging technologies and payments with a special focus on the consumer payment and remittance industry,” Tomalin said in a statement to LSE.

“As announced on March 16, 2020, the effective resignation date of Promoth Manghat as outgoing chief executive is now effected on the appointment of Bhairav Trivedi,” it said.

Finablr also announced that Rahul Pai, chief Financial officer, has resigned but has agreed to support Trivedi until a successor is identified, and said there are no further disclosures to be made pursuant to listing rule. The $300 million loan default by UAE Exchange, set up by BR Shetty, the founder of the embattled NMC Health, has dragged some of Wall Street’s top banks into the widening scandal. According to Bloomberg, lenders include Barclays, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a UAE bank that arranged the facility.

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