BlackRock’s private-credit arm and several global lenders are racing to recover more than $500 million in what has been described as a “breathtaking” financial fraud allegedly orchestrated by Indian-origin telecom executive Bankim Brahmbhatt, according to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal.
Brahmbhatt, the owner of US-based telecom firms Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice, is accused of fabricating invoices, forging customer emails, and creating fake contracts dating back to 2018 to secure hundreds of millions in loans from private-credit investors, including BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners.
The lenders, who filed a lawsuit in August, claim that Brahmbhatt “created an elaborate balance sheet of assets that existed only on paper,” while allegedly moving funds offshore to India and Mauritius.
The alleged fraud was based on asset-backed financing, a structure where borrowers pledge future customer payments as collateral.
It is reported that Brahmbhatt’s companies reportedly claimed to finance receivables from major international telecoms such as T-Mobile, Telstra, and Telecom Italia Sparkle.
Investigators later discovered that the contracts and invoices were entirely fabricated. To maintain the illusion, Brahmbhatt allegedly created fake email domains that mimicked legitimate companies, allowing his team to send convincing but fraudulent verifications directly to lenders.
Auditing firms Deloitte and later CBIZ were engaged to verify the companies’ financial claims, but the complex fake infrastructure initially went undetected. BlackRock’s HPS began lending to Brahmbhatt-linked entities in September 2020, investing $385 million by early 2021 and increasing this to around $430 million by August 2024. French banking giant BNP Paribas reportedly financed nearly half of these loans through Brahmbhatt’s Carriox Capital and its affiliates.
The alleged scheme began to unravel in July 2025 when an HPS employee noticed irregularities in email domains during a routine verification process. When questioned, Brahmbhatt dismissed the concerns before ceasing all communication.
A subsequent visit by HPS officials to his Garden City, New York, office found it locked and abandoned. When The Wall Street Journal visited the site in late October, the office remained deserted, and neighbours confirmed that no staff had been seen in weeks. At his listed residence, several luxury cars, including BMWs, a Porsche, a Tesla, and an Audi, were found parked outside beside a dust-covered package.
It is reported that further investigation revealed that Belgian telecom company BICS had confirmed to Quinn Emanuel, a law firm hired by HPS, that it had no link to the emails provided by Brahmbhatt’s firms, describing the correspondence as “a confirmed fraud attempt.” The lenders’ review also found that every customer email used for invoice verification over the past two years was fake, and many contracts had been forged.
By August 2025, Brahmbhatt’s companies—including Broadband Telecom, Bridgevoice, Carriox Capital II, and BB Capital SPV—had all filed for bankruptcy, with Brahmbhatt personally declaring bankruptcy on the same day under Chapter 11 protection. The lawsuit further alleges that he transferred assets that should have been pledged as collateral to offshore accounts in India and Mauritius.
Sources cited by The Wall Street Journal say Brahmbhatt is currently believed to be in India. His lawyer has denied all allegations, calling them baseless.
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