NMC Health says 'disappointed' in founder Shetty's ownership disclosures

(Reuters) - NMC Health <NMC.L> said on Tuesday it was 'disappointed' with the disclosures made by its founder B.R. Shetty and that it urgently sought clarity on his shareholding arrangements and holdings in the company.

Shetty on Monday resigned as co-chairman, creating further uncertainty for the UAE healthcare company, which has seen its shares collapse in the past few weeks on doubts about the shareholdings of its major investors.

The company said it was not able to independently verify the information received from Shetty or that contained in his Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities (PDMR) notification.

Shetty's resignation came a week after UK regulators said they were looking into NMC following a disclosure that he had misstated the size of his NMC stake.

NMC vice chairman Khalifa Butti Omeir Bin Yousef had also stepped down from the board last week after a series of complex shareholder dealings involving him, Shetty, and another top investor, Saeed Butti Al Qebaisi.

The group's shares have lost about 70% of their value since U.S.-based short-seller Muddy Waters late last year raised questions about the company's financial statements. NMC said at the time the report was "false and misleading".

(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)