Chandigarh- According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Indian-origin industrialist Bankim Brahmbhatt has been charged with committing a massive loan fraud of about $ 500 million (Rs 4,000 crore) in the US.
Brahmbhatt, who is the founder of US-based broadband telecom company BridgeVoice and Bankai Group, is accused of obtaining loans worth crores of dollars by showing fake customers and fake invoices in the accounts of his companies to get loans. These items were presented as collateral for the loan.
The lenders who fell victim to this fraud include HPS Investment Partners, the private credit arm of global investment company BlackRock, and several other US banks, which have initiated legal action to recover their money.
The fraud was uncovered in July 2025 when an accounting firm found suspicious email IDs that were created from fake domains and were impersonating real telecom companies. According to the report, when Brahmbhatt was informed about this, he initially tried to dismiss it as a 'simple mistake', but later he stopped answering phone calls and disappeared.
In addition, his office in Garden City, New York was also found closed and the staff was absent for several weeks. There is also an allegation of transferring the fraudulent money to countries like India and Mauritius.
After the lawsuit was filed in August 2025, Brahmbhatt declared himself bankrupt and his companies started the reorganization process under Chapter 11. It is said that his LinkedIn profile has also been removed after the fraud was revealed, and this matter is currently pending in a US court.