'Breathtaking fraud': BlackRock accuses Indian-origin CEO of $500m scam - All you need to know

In what investigators are calling a breathtaking case of financial deception, BlackRock’s private credit division and several leading global lenders are scrambling to recover more than $500 million allegedly siphoned off through a complex loan fraud involving Indian-origin telecom executive Bankim Brahmbhatt.

According to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal, the lenders, including BlackRock’s HPS Investment Partners, have accused Brahmbhatt, the owner of telecom service firms Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice, of fabricating invoices and fake accounts receivable. These falsified documents were allegedly used as collateral to secure large loans.

A lawsuit filed in the United States in August claims Brahmbhatt built an illusion of financial strength on paper while secretly transferring funds to offshore accounts in India and Mauritius. The total debt owed by his network of companies now exceeds $500 million, the report stated.