It was just two years ago that Bankim Brahmbhatt, the Indian-origin CEO of a US-based telecom company, shot into the limelight after featuring in Capacity’s Power 100 List, which recognises the top 100 leaders in the telecoms industry. The Gujarat-born Brahmbhatt now finds himself embroiled in a massive financial scandal worth a whopping $500 million (Rs 4,200 crore) involving American multinational investment company BlackRock.
Brahmbhatt, who seems to have pulled off a Houdini, is now facing a lawsuit in the US filed by HPS, the private credit investment arm of BlackRock. Brahmbhatt is the owner of the little-known companies Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice. These belong to the Bankai Group, which previously identified him on X as its president and CEO.
Terming it a “breathtaking” fraud, the lenders, including HPS, alleged that Brahmbhatt fabricated invoices and accounts receivable that were pledged as collateral to secure massive loans, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, Brahmbhatt set up a web of financing vehicles — Carriox Capital and BB Capital SPV — to raise millions of dollars from private-credit investors.
HPS, a private-credit giant recently acquired by BlackRock, started lending to Brahmbhatt’s firms in 2020. It gradually raised its exposure to $385 million in 2021, and later to around $430 million in 2024. BNP Paribas, a European banking and financial services giant, helped finance the loans issued by HPS.
However, HPS had no inkling of the alleged massive fraud that was happening until July 2025. During a routine check, an HPS employee stumbled upon irregularities in customer email addresses provided by Brahmbhatt-owned companies to verify invoices.
HPS found that the email addresses were from fake domains mimicking real telecom companies. On being questioned, Brahmbhatt assured HPS that there was nothing to worry about. He later went incommunicado. A month later, on August 12, Brahmbhatt filed for bankruptcy.
In its lawsuit, HPS also alleged that assets meant as loan collateral were transferred to offshore accounts in India and Mauritius by Brahmbhatt.
Very little is known about Brahmbhatt. His LinkedIn profile also appears to have been deleted.
Bankai Group, which claimed Brahmbhatt to be its CEO, claims to have around three decades of experience in the telecommunications industry. It sells services and infrastructure to other telecom companies.
Brahmbhatt featured in Capacity’s Power 100 List of 2023 for his work in the industry.
A report claimed that Brahmbhatt attended St Xavier’s School in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Nothing else is known about his educational background.
In several of his past interviews, Brahmbhatt said his career kicked off in 1989, when he set up a push-button telephone manufacturing unit in India. He then diversified into other ventures, like satellite dishes and media receivers.
What is interesting here is that neither BlackRock nor the US authorities have any clue of Brahmbhatt’s whereabouts. After the fraud came to light, HPS visited the New York offices of his companies in July. They were found to be closed and deserted.
He was also not found at his listed residence in Garden City, an affluent Long Island suburb, near New York. WSJ reported that two BMWs, a Porsche, a Tesla and an Audi were parked in the driveway, collecting dust. An unopened package was also found on the front door.
HPS apparently believes that Brahmbhatt has left the US and is hiding in India.
