Bankim Brahmbhatt is who? BlackRock is investigating an Indian-origin CEO for a "breathtaking" $500 million swindle in the United States.

The owner of Bridgevoice and Broadband Telecom, both situated in the United States, Bankim Brahmbhatt, has been charged with creating fake accounts receivable that were intended to be used as collateral for loans.

The Wall Street Journal said Thursday that a $500 million scam involving an Indian-origin CEO targeted lenders and the private-credit investing division of BlackRock, the largest investment firm in the world.

The WSJ report claims that HPS Investment Partners, BlackRock's private credit investment division, is currently attempting to recoup the funds after becoming a victim of what it describes as a "breathtaking" scam.

The owner of Bridgevoice and Broadband Telecom, both situated in the United States, Bankim Brahmbhatt, has been charged with creating fake accounts receivable that were intended to be used as collateral for loans.

What accusation does Bankim Brahmbhatt face?

According to the August lawsuit, HPS allegedly gave loans to Brahmbhatt's businesses in exchange for the pledge of millions of dollars in customer debt as security.

Now, the lenders claim that Brahmbhatt's businesses owe them almost $500 million.

According to BlackRock, the monies from the loan were moved to offshore accounts in Mauritius and India when the account receivables verification procedure began.

The WSJ investigation, which cited people with knowledge of the situation, claims that BNP Paribas assisted BlackRock's HPS Investment Partners in funding the loans to Brahmbhatt's businesses.

In September 2020, HPS, which BlackRock acquired earlier this year, began lending to at least one financing arm connected to Brahmbhatt's telecom businesses.

A number of businesses connected to Brahmbhatt, including the invoice finance company Carriox Capital, based in New York, have since filed for Chapter 11 protection in the US since the action was filed in August.

In their case, the lenders claimed that Brahmbhatt had fabricated emails, contracts, and invoices over the previous two years to give the impression that the money was due to well-known telecom providers.

Lawyers for the lenders noted, "Brahmbhatt created an elaborate balance sheet of assets that existed only on paper."

HPS increased the size of its debt investment after its first 2020 loan to around $385 million in early 2021 and subsequently to approximately $430 million in August 2024.

According to the sources cited by WSJ, BNP Paribas provided funding for about half of the loan to Brahmbhatt's Carriox and related companies.

Bankim Brahmbhatt is currently where?

The report claims that in July, an HPS employee discovered anomalies with certain email addresses that were allegedly from Carriox clients.

As a result, suspicions were raised, and HPS authorities questioned Bankim Brahmbhatt regarding the purported anomalies. The businessman had told them that everything was fine at the moment, but he then stopped returning their calls.

In July, an HPS employee discovered that Brahmbhatt's offices in Garden City, New York, were closed.

On Wednesday, no one answered the door at his listed Garden City apartment, and his office space was closed and looked empty. There were two BMWs, a Porsche, a Tesla, and an Audi parked in the driveway, and there was an unattended package near the front door.

According to the investigation, HPS informed a few clients that they thought Brahmbhatt was in India.

Bankim Brahmbhatt is who?

The founder of Bankai Group, Bankim Brahmbhatt, has more than thirty years of experience in the telecom sector.

His businesses, Bridgevoice and Broadband Telecom, provide infrastructure and services to other telecom providers.

When Mint attempted to access Bankim Brahmbhatt's LinkedIn account, it appeared to have been erased.