In what US investigators have described as a “breathtaking” financial fraud, Indian-origin telecom executive Bankim Brahmbhatt has been accused of masterminding a massive USD 500 million loan scam that has rocked BlackRock’s private-credit investing arm, HPS Investment Partners, and several major lenders.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), lenders, including BlackRock’s HPS and BNP Paribas, are scrambling to recover hundreds of millions of dollars after discovering that Brahmbhatt’s companies allegedly fabricated invoices, fake client accounts, and forged financial documents to obtain huge loans.

How The Fraud Unfolded

Court filings reviewed by WSJ reveal that Brahmbhatt’s network of telecom firms, Broadband Telecom, Bridgevoice, and Carriox Capital, created false accounts receivable that were pledged as collateral for loans. These assets, investigators claim, existed only on paper.

The scheme reportedly began in 2020, when HPS began lending to Brahmbhatt’s affiliated companies. The total investment, initially USD 385 million in 2021, grew to about USD 430 million by August 2024. Nearly half of the loan amount, insiders told WSJ, was financed by French banking giant BNP Paribas. The loans were backed by customer invoices that Brahmbhatt’s companies claimed were owed by international telecom operators. But when auditors began verifying these claims, they found a trail of fake email domains and fabricated correspondence imitating real clients.

Trouble surfaced in July 2025, when an HPS employee noticed inconsistencies in email addresses used for verification. Upon closer inspection, investigators discovered that every single customer email used to confirm invoices over the past two years was fraudulent.

Who Is Bankim Brahmbhatt?

Brahmbhatt, a long-time telecom entrepreneur, is the founder of Bankai Group, a global telecom and technology conglomerate operating in multiple countries. His companies have provided voice and messaging services to major operators worldwide for over three decades.

When confronted, Brahmbhatt allegedly dismissed the concerns, and soon after, stopped responding to calls and emails. An HPS employee who later visited the company’s Garden City, New York office found it locked and deserted. Nearby tenants told WSJ that no staff had been seen entering or leaving for weeks.

At Brahmbhatt’s listed residence, luxury cars, including two BMWs, a Porsche, a Tesla, and an Audi, were found parked in the driveway, while packages lay unopened by the door.

What The Lawsuit Alleges

The lawsuit, filed in the United States in August, claims Brahmbhatt’s entities owe more than USD 500 million to the lenders. It further alleges that funds were diverted to offshore accounts in India and Mauritius.

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A review by US law firm Quinn Emanuel and accounting firm CBIZ reportedly confirmed that several contracts dating back to 2018 were forged. One such forged contract involved Belgian telecom operator BICS, which later told investigators it had no business relationship with Brahmbhatt’s firms, calling it a “confirmed fraud attempt.”

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The case, involving BlackRock, BNP Paribas, and multiple international lenders, is being closely watched by regulators and investors as one of the most significant alleged financial frauds to hit the private-credit market in recent years.