The worldwide private debt market has witnessed tremendous turbulence due to a purported ‘$ 500,000,000 frauds’, which the victims have described as ‘breathtaking,’ allegedly masterminded by Bankim Brahmbhatt, an Indian-born telecom executive.
It was this huge scheme that targeted one of the private credit investing arms of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and other major American lenders.
Brahmbhatt, an owner of US-based companies like Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice, apparently created a bogus asset base to secure massive loans, representing those funds as legitimate collateral that his telecom customers owed him.
Key Financial Details: Fictitious Collateral
The essence of the alleged fraud is the generation of fictitious accounts receivable (ARs). Brahmbhatt was said to present these imaginary customer receivables-as if they were payments due from large telecom companies-to be locked as solid collateral for multi-million-dollar loans.
BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners, which had lent to the borrower in September 2020 and continued climbing with a current exposure of nearly $430 million, is currently pursuing restitution for nearly half a billion dollars in loss.
The lenders sue Brahmbhatt, alleging that the latter created an elaborate scheme with fake invoices, contracts, and emails for two years to perpetrate a huge fraud under their noses.
The Aftermath: Offshore Diversion and Disappearance
Alarm bells began ringing in July when an employee at HPS flagged irregularities in supposed customer email domains.
From there, a verification process allegedly discovered that loan proceeds had been diverted to offshore accounts in India and Mauritius, indicating an intentional transfer of assets meant to serve as a collateral. As soon as the lawsuit was launched, several companies connected to Brahmbhatt, including the financing firm Carriox Capital, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.
When confronted, Brahmbhatt flatly denied wrongdoing but subsequently became unreachable. His New York offices reportedly stand locked and vacant, and concerns are being raised that the former CEO might have flown to India, leaving a trail of immense financial and legal fallout in the rapidly growing private-credit sector.
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A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
