Bank of Baroda is facing mounting pressure over its operations in Kenya following a court warrant of arrest and the impending auction of property in a dispute that could further complicate the lender’s position in the country.
The property is expected to be auctioned within two weeks, adding urgency to the ongoing legal battle involving the bank.
The development comes alongside information that Bank of Baroda’s head office in India directed the closure of its operations in Kenya, raising questions about the future of the lender’s presence in the country.
The Kenyan developments are also being viewed against the bank’s experience in other international markets, where its operations have faced closure-related decisions.
The South African government asked Bank of Baroda to close its operations there, while the bank was also asked to close its retail operations in the United Kingdom.
The questions surrounding the bank’s international operations have been accompanied by a major financial settlement arising from the collapse of UAE-based healthcare group NMC Health.
In July 2026, Bank of Baroda agreed to pay $600 million, approximately ₹5,700 crore, to the joint administrators of NMC Health and its affiliates to settle claims connected to the company’s insolvency.
NMC Health collapsed in 2020 after more than $4 billion in hidden debt was discovered. Alvarez and Marsal, appointed as administrator, subsequently made Bank of Baroda a party to recovery proceedings.
The administrators alleged that the bank had been grossly negligent in handling NMC-related accounts. Their claims included alleged failures to properly follow anti-money laundering and know your customer procedures, continued processing of payments the bank allegedly knew were fraudulent and inadequate due diligence on accounts allegedly used to facilitate pass-through payments through fake invoices.
People familiar with the matter also alleged that the bank’s handling of the transactions contributed to wider losses among NMC’s lenders.
The $600 million settlement was more than twice the $253 million exposure Bank of Baroda had disclosed when NMC entered insolvency in 2020. It was also nearly equivalent to the ₹5,616 crore net profit the bank reported for the fourth quarter of the 2026 financial year.
Before reaching the settlement, Bank of Baroda had challenged the allegations before the Abu Dhabi Global Market court and the England and Wales High Court.
The ADGM trial began on March 23, 2026, while the England proceedings were stayed pending the outcome. The bank denied all allegations and maintained its defence before choosing to settle the dispute.
Against this backdrop, the Kenyan court dispute, the looming property auction and the reported directive from the bank’s Indian headquarters to close its Kenyan operations add to the questions surrounding Bank of Baroda’s continued presence in the country.
