4 arrested for Rs 140 cr fraud

Vijayawada: After four months of investigation into a cheating case involving Rs 140 crore, the Vijayawada City Police arrested the main accused, his wife, and two agents (wife and husband) on Monday.

The case pertains to the Advika Trading Marketing Company, which allegedly duped over 1,100 depositors with false promises of high returns.

Addressing a press conference at the Police Commissionerate on Tuesday, NTR District Police Commissioner SV Rajasekhar Babu said that the main accused, Tadepalli Sri Venkata Aditya, his wife Tadepalli (Ganta) Sujatha, and agents Gadhamsetti Balakrishna and Gadhamsetti Naga Lakshmi Kumari were arrested in connection with the scam.

According to the Commissioner, ten special teams were formed to investigate the case. The teams questioned over 1,355 victims and verified the bank accounts of all accused. Technical evidence was also collected.

The CP said the case began when Veeramallu Ganesh Chandra lodged a complaint on June 26, 2025, alleging that he and his family invested Rs 53 lakh in the company after being promised high returns. They received only Rs 13 lakh before the company shut down, and the accused absconded.

Following the complaint, Machavaram Police registered Crime No 248/2025 under Sections 318(4), 316(2)(5), 61(2) of the BNS, and Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act, 1999. The probe was led by Crime DCP Dr K Tirumaleswara Reddy, with Central ACP K Damodar and Task Force ACP Latha Kumari supervising the teams.

The accused were apprehended at Sri Lakshmi Enclave Apartments, Ballemvari Street at Kanuru, near Vijayawada. During interrogation, Aditya revealed that the company was launched in 2022 with an initial investment of Rs 15 lakh, operating through a Cabana Account in Dubai. When trading failed, they resorted to a Ponzi-style scheme, promising 5% monthly interest and 3–4% commission to agents.

The police discovered that the company collected Rs 400 crore from 1,450 investors. Of this amount, depositors lost Rs 135 crore, and agents lost Rs 9 crore, totalling Rs 144 crore that was improperly used by Aditya and his wife, Sujatha, with the assistance of agents. Authorities traced assets worth Rs 100 crore to the accused. During the arrests of Aditya and Sujatha, the police seized Rs 23 lakh in cash, 580 grams of gold, 8.3 kg of silver, a Tata Safari vehicle, and several computers.

Commissioner Rajasekhar Babu appreciated the efforts of the investigation team, led by Crime DCP Dr K Tirumaleswara Reddy, ACPs K Damodar Rao, K Latha Kumari, Inspectors A Subrahmanya, Ch Prakas, Vasireddy Srinu, A Pawan Kishore, N Rajasekhar, D Chawan, B Chandrasekhar, K Kishore Babu, and their staff, for successfully arresting the culprits.