Bankim Brahmbhatt, an Indian-origin CEO, is at the center of a major financial scandal involving allegations of a $500 million fraud against BlackRock. Brahmbhatt is the founder, president, and CEO of Bankai Group, a US-headquartered telecommunications and fintech company. He is also the owner of Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice, telecom companies operating under the Bankai Group umbrella.
Brahmbhatt's career began in 1989 when he established a push-button telephone manufacturing unit in India. Over the years, his ventures expanded into satellite dishes, telecom billing, and digital financial solutions. Bankai Group's flagship product, MobiFin Elite, provides digital financial services and has been implemented by clients across several countries, particularly in Africa. Brahmbhatt often spoke about his vision to create a self-sustaining ecosystem for carriers, operators, and financial institutions, combining “technical skills and people skills”.
The alleged fraud involves HPS Investment Partners, the private credit arm of BlackRock, which accuses Brahmbhatt's firms of fabricating accounts receivable to use as collateral for loans. Lenders, including HPS, claim they are owed over $500 million. The lawsuit alleges that Brahmbhatt's firms created a false impression of financial health while transferring money offshore to India and Mauritius.
HPS began lending to a financing arm linked to Brahmbhatt's companies in September 2020, later increasing its exposure to approximately $430 million by August 2024. BNP Paribas, a European banking and financial services giant, helped finance the loans.
The alleged deception began to unravel in July 2025 when an HPS employee discovered irregularities in customer email addresses provided by Brahmbhatt's companies to verify invoices. HPS found that the email addresses were from fake domains mimicking real telecom companies. Lenders claim that every customer email provided to them by Brahmbhatt's companies over the past two years was fake and that they found fraudulent contracts from customers dating back to 2018. One customer, BICS, confirmed in writing that it had no connection to the supposed correspondence, calling it "a confirmed fraud attempt".
Brahmbhatt's lawyer told the Wall Street Journal that his client disputes the fraud allegations. Despite the scale of the alleged fraud, sources told WSJ that the incident represents only a small portion of HPS's $179 billion in assets under management and is unlikely to materially affect BlackRock's overall performance.
Brahmbhatt's companies have filed for bankruptcy. Brahmbhatt also filed for personal bankruptcy on August 12, the same day his companies sought Chapter 11 protection. WSJ reported that a person who visited the New York offices of his companies in July found them closed and vacant. HPS has told clients it believes Brahmbhatt is currently in India.
