Bankim Brahmbhatt, CEO of an Indian-American telecom company in the US, has been accused of a major financial fraud of $500 million (over Rs 4,000 crore). According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Brahmbhatt took huge loans from US banks by creating fake customer accounts and revenue documents. Brahmbhatt is the owner of companies called Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice. According to the report, they misled many investors into believing that their businesses had strong revenues and customer base, when in fact, these were based on many non-existent customers and fraudulent transactions.
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The scam also involves funds backed by major investment firm HPS Investment Partners and global asset management giant BlackRock. Creditors filed a lawsuit in August 2024, alleging that Brahmbhatt had pledged non-existent revenue sources as loan guarantees, the WSJ reported.
The company was receiving loans since 2020.
HPS started lending to one of Brahmbhatt’s companies in September 2020 and the amount gradually increased to $385 million by early 2021 and $430 million by August 2024. About half of these loans were financed by BNP Paribas Bank.
The company filed for bankruptcy
His companies have now applied to the court under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows companies to reorganize under US law. Brahmbhatt also filed for personal bankruptcy on the same day. According to the report, when reporters visited his office in Garden City, New York, it was closed and neighbors said no one had been seen there for several weeks. Sources associated with the investigation say that Brahmbhatt may have left America and returned to India. However, his lawyer has termed all the allegations as baseless.
