American investment giant BlackRock has accused Bankim Brahmbhatt, the Indian-origin CEO of US-based telecom companies Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice, of multi-million-dollar fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Lenders, including HPS Investment Partners - the private credit arm of BlackRock - have accused Brahmbhatt’s firms of fabricating accounts receivable that were used as collateral for loans. The lenders now claim to be owed over $500 million. Brahmbhatt’s lawyer told WSJ that his client disputed the fraud allegations.
Who is Bankim Brahmbhatt
Bankim Brahmbhatt is the founder, president and CEO of Bankai Group, a US-headquartered telecommunications and fintech company.
In interviews with Entrepreneur Middle East and Industry Chronicle, Brahmbhatt described himself as a telecom engineer turned entrepreneur, who began his journey in 1989 by setting up a push-button telephone manufacturing unit in India. Over the years, his ventures expanded into satellite dishes, telecom billing, and digital financial solutions.
Bankai Group’s flagship product, MobiFin Elite, provides digital financial services and has been implemented by clients across several countries, particularly in Africa. Brahmbhatt often spoke about his vision to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for carriers, operators, and financial institutions, combining “technical skills and people skills.”
His LinkedIn profile which earlier has sizable followers appears to have deactivated.
What is the case against him
According to WSJ, HPS began lending to a financing arm linked to Brahmbhatt’s companies in September 2020, later expanding its exposure to about $430 million by August 2024, with BNP Paribas helping finance the loans.
Trouble surfaced in July 2024, when an HPS employee discovered that some customer emails appeared to come from fake domains imitating real telecom firms. When questioned, Brahmbhatt reportedly assured HPS officials there was nothing to worry about, before stopping all communication.
Subsequent checks by accounting firm CBIZ and law firm Quinn Emanuel, hired by the lenders, found that emails and invoices provided as proof of receivables were falsified, the report said. A Belgian telecom company, BICS, confirmed to investigators that it had no connection to the emails used by Brahmbhatt’s firms, calling it a “confirmed fraud attempt.”
Court filings allege that fraudulent customer contracts dated back to 2018 and that assets pledged as collateral were transferred to offshore accounts in India and Mauritius.
Brahmbhatt’s companies - Broadband Telecom, Bridgevoice, Carriox Capital II, and BB Capital SPV - filed for bankruptcy in August, the same month lenders sued. BNP Paribas also reported adding €190 million (around $220 million) in loan-loss provisions linked to a “specific credit situation,” though it did not name the borrower.
Where is Bankim Brahmbhatt now
HPS has told clients it believes Brahmbhatt is currently in India. A person who visited the New York offices of his companies in July found them closed and vacant, the WSJ report said.
Brahmbhatt also filed for personal bankruptcy on August 12, the same day his companies sought Chapter 11 protection.
Despite the scale of the alleged fraud, sources told WSJ that the incident represents only a small portion of HPS’s $179 billion in assets under management and is unlikely to materially affect BlackRock’s overall performance.
What next
While the US courts are now handling the bankruptcy proceedings and civil lawsuits, Brahmbhatt has denied these allegagtions and is missing. The full scope of the alleged fraud and its potential impact on BlackRock’s private credit arm and BNP Paribas remains under investigation.