Vijayawada: Police on Tuesday arrested the main accused and three associates in connection with a multi-crore investment fraud linked to Advika Trading and Marketing Company, which allegedly duped over 1,400 depositors of nearly Rs 144 crore through a high-return trading scam, which was in operation since 2022.
Police said a case under various sections of BNS and section 5 of AP Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishment Act was registered at Machavaram police station on June 26 following a complaint lodged by Viramallu Ganesh Chandra, alleging that he and his family deposited Rs 53 lakh with Advika Trading Company after being persuaded by the prime accused, Venkata Aditya Tadepalli, and that the company returned only Rs 13 lakh before shutting operations. The main accused also went absconding.
Vijayawada police commissioner S V Rajashekara Babu constituted a special task force to probe the fraud. The task force was divided into 10 special units to talk to the victims, collect bank statements and technical evidence, and trace the flow of funds. The investigators questioned around 1,355 depositors and collected extensive documentary and electronic evidence, including bank statements of the principal accused and other depositors.
The investigation found that Venkata Aditya and his wife Sujata established Advika Trading Company in 2022 with an initial capital investment of Rs 15 lakh and purportedly operated online trading through foreign platforms, including transfers to an account described as ‘Cabana' in Dubai, besides other overseas multi-banking and forex platforms.
Advika Trading and its network of agents promised high returns, advertised monthly interest of about 5%, offered agents 4% commissions, and used the new deposits to pay interest to earlier depositors — a pattern consistent with Ponzi-style schemes. Since 2022, the company collected deposits from roughly 1,450 people, amounting to approximately Rs 400 crore. Barring trading losses of around Rs 14 lakh on online platforms, the funds were diverted to multiple accounts and personal uses rather than bonafide trading operations, the investigators found.
By the time the company shut operations, out of about 1,450 depositors and 60 agents, 1,150 depositors were left with unpaid losses estimated at about Rs 135 crore while 25 agents incurred losses of about Rs 9 crore, bringing the total documented loss to approximately Rs 144 crore. The probe also located movable and immovable assets like jewellery and properties worth an estimated Rs 100 crore linked to the accused and their associates.
Prime accused Venkata Aditya and his wife Sujatha, along with two agents Gadhamshetti Balakrishna Murthy and his wife Gadhamshetti Naga Lakshmi Kumari were arrested by the police from Vijayawada on Monday. Seizures from the arrested included Rs 23 lakh in cash, approximately 580 grams of gold jewellery, 8.3 kg of silver items, a car, computers, and related electronic devices. Police have traced multiple bank transfers and foreign remittances. Following forensic examination of financial records, identified assets would be catalogued for possible attachment.
Madhu Rasala is a journalist based in Andhra Pradesh, with crime ...
Read MoreMadhu Rasala is a journalist based in Andhra Pradesh, with crime reporting as a major focus. He has been covering a wide range of beats including politics, development, tourism, environment, wildlife, civic issues, and social justice. Known for ground-level reporting and in-depth stories, Madhu brings sharp attention to detail and regional insight, especially while covering crime and law enforcement in the Telugu states.
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