New York City, NY, USA: Bankim Brahmbhatt, the president and chief executive officer of Bankai Group, a technology and telecom company headquartered in New York, has been accused of orchestrating a massive financial fraud valued at over $500 million. According to The Wall Street Journal, Brahmbhatt and several companies linked to him allegedly obtained huge loans from major private-credit lenders using falsified documentation and fabricated client accounts.
Among the firms under scrutiny are Broadband Telecom Inc., Panamax Inc., and BridgeVoice Inc., all of which are said to have used non-existent receivables as collateral to obtain asset-based financing. Investigators claim that these companies generated fake invoices, forged agreements, and even registered imitation email domains that resembled legitimate telecom businesses to mislead auditors and investors. When independent auditors attempted to validate customer data, they discovered that many of the provided email addresses were linked to domains owned by the borrowers themselves, the Journal reported.
The companies connected to Brahmbhatt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2025—the same day the executive reportedly sought personal bankruptcy protection. Creditors have since alleged that significant amounts of money and pledged assets were transferred abroad, including to India and Mauritius, making the recovery process increasingly complex.
Although the case currently remains within the civil court system, The Wall Street Journal described the alleged deception as “staggering,” highlighting the vulnerabilities of the U.S. private credit sector, where loan verification often depends heavily on company-provided data.
Citing a report by The Times of India, lenders have claimed that Brahmbhatt has become unresponsive and that his current whereabouts are unknown. However, there has been no official confirmation that he has left the United States. His legal representative has publicly denied the allegations.
Brahmbhatt, an electronics and communications graduate from the Gujarat Technical Education Board, began his career in India during the late 1980s by manufacturing push-button telephones and satellite receivers. In 1989, he founded the enterprise that would later evolve into the Bankai Group, headquartered in Garden City, New York. Over the decades, the company expanded its reach into telecom, international voice, fintech, and messaging services, operating through its subsidiaries Panamax, BridgeVoice, and Broadband Telecom
Celebrated for his leadership, Brahmbhatt was once featured in Capacity Media’s Power 100 list, recognising influential executives in the global telecommunications space. Until recently, he was regarded as a visionary entrepreneur driving digital connectivity across borders.
The ongoing investigation has drawn parallels to some of the largest corporate frauds in U.S. history and has intensified scrutiny of the private lending industry, where asset verification can be opaque. The results of the court proceedings will likely determine whether lenders can recover any of the funds allegedly lost in this billion-dollar controversy.
