American investment company BlackRock reported to have fallen prey to a multi-million-dollar ‘breathtaking’ fraud allegedly orchestrated by Bankim Brahmbhatt, the Indian-origin CEO of a US-based telecom company, Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice. The Wall Street Journal reported that lenders have accused Brahmbhatt’s company of fabricating accounts receivable that were supposed to be used as loan collateral and now the CEO’s companies owe them more than $500 million. Brahmbhatt’s lawyer told Journal that the CEO disputed the fraud allegations. HPS, the private credit card investment arm of BlackRock, began lending to at least one financing arm affiliated with Brahmbhatt’s telecom companies in September 2020. HPS increased the size of its debt investment to around $385 million in early 2021, and then to about $430 million in August 2024.
In July, an HPS employee noticed irregularities with certain email addresses as they looked like they came from fake domains mimicking real telecom companies. HPS officials raised concerns with Brahmbhatt but he assured them that there was nothing to worry about and then he stopped answering their phone calls. An HPS official visited the NY offices of Brahmbhatt’s companies and found them closed. Brahmbhatt’s telecom companies filed for bankruptcy in August.
Where is Bankim Brahmbhatt?
Wall Street Journal visited Brahmbhatt’s Garden City house, listed as his residence, but no one answered. “Two BMWs, a Porsche, a Tesla and an Audi were parked in the driveway. A package next to the front door was collecting dust,” the report said. HPS told some clients that they believed Brahmbhatt is in India. “Calls to Brahmbhatt’s lawyer seeking comment on his client’s whereabouts weren’t immediately returned,” the report said. The lenders filed suit in August and alleged that they had investigated the customer emails Brahmbhatt-owned companies had provided to verify invoices over the past two years and each of those was fake. “Brahmbhatt created an elaborate balance sheet of assets that existed only on paper,” lawyers for the lenders wrote. The lenders further allege that Brahmbhatt had transferred assets that should have been pledged as collateral to offshore accounts in India and Mauritius, according to their lawsuit.
