An Indian-origin businessman, Bankim Brahmbhatt, is the central determine in a significant fraud scandal—labeled “breathtaking”—which has reportedly left BlackRock’s private-credit arm and different lenders scrambling to get well over $500 million.
Bankim Brahmbhatt-who is he?
Bankim Brahmbhatt owns two lesser-known telecom-services corporations, Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice, by way of the Bankai Group. The Bankai Group claims to be a world chief providing infrastructure and connectivity options to operators of telecom companies in any respect ranges worldwide. A July social media put up describes Brahmbhatt as President and CEO of the Group.
Till lately, Brahmbhatt had places of work in Backyard Metropolis, N.Y. There’s little or no about him on-line, and a LinkedIn profile that appeared to belong to him is now mentioned to be deleted.
The Allegations: Fabricated Collateral and Offshore Transfers
Lenders, together with HPS Funding Companions-a private-credit big lately acquired by BlackRock-allege that Brahmbhatt created a fancy net of financing entities, together with Carriox Capital and BB Capital SPV, to borrow lots of of tens of millions of {dollars}.
The core accusation is that, from 2018 onwards, Brahmbhatt systematically fabricated buyer invoices and contracts, then used these phony accounts receivable as collateral for the loans, which topped $500 million.
Legal professionals for the lenders wrote in a grievance that “Brahmbhatt created an elaborate steadiness sheet of belongings that existed solely on paper,” based on the Wall Avenue Journal. What’s extra, the lenders say their probe uncovered proof that each buyer e-mail offered during the last two years was phony.
They additional accuse him of transferring the pledged belongings into offshore accounts, first in India and later in Mauritius. The legal professional for Brahmbhatt has publicly denied the fraud allegations.
Chapter filings and seek for the accused
The monetary collapse occurred quick:
Brahmibhatt’s telecom firms declared chapter final August.
He personally filed for Chapter 11 chapter on August 12, the identical day his firms entered chapter proceedings. Two financing automobiles, Carriox Capital II and BB Capital SPV, additionally submitted chapter safety filings final week. Lenders mentioned they imagine Brahmbhatt is now in India. A consultant of HPS went to his places of work in Backyard Metropolis in July and located they have been locked up and empty.
Luxurious automobiles remained parked exterior a residence subsequent door listed as belonging to Brahmbhatt, however the workplace suite was nonetheless locked up and empty Wednesday. BNP Paribas can be reported to have offered debt financing for the loans issued by HPS Funding Companions, however up to now, the financial institution has refused to touch upon the topic.