In a massive investment scam, over 1,200 investors were allegedly duped of nearly Rs300 crore by Advaika Trading Company, a firm based in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The prime accused, Tadepalli Venkata Aditya, a former LIC agent and manager of the firm, has been arrested along with an associate.
Advaika Trading operated primarily from Gunadala and LIC Colony, promoting the tagline “Advaika is amazing – a secure way for your investment”. The firm promised monthly returns of 6% (Rs6,000 per Rs1 lakh invested), a rate that attracted thousands from Krishna, NTR, and Eluru districts.
Using local agents and social media influencers, Aditya built credibility and ensured timely payouts in the early phase, which helped the scheme snowball. However, by February 2024, the payouts abruptly stopped, triggering panic among investors.
The fraud was exposed after Veeramallu Ganesh, a software engineer from Chennavaram village, filed a police complaint. Ganesh initially invested Rs1 lakh and later deposited Rs53 lakh in total. He received Rs13 lakh as returns over 18 months but stopped hearing from the company after February.
Upon confronting Aditya at the office, he was met with vague assurances. Ganesh then approached the police, leading to the arrest of Aditya and the detention of another associate.
During questioning, Aditya claimed that the funds were invested in forex and equity markets and lost. However, police suspect possible misappropriation and are investigating further. A Task Force team has handed Aditya over to Machavaram police, and a case has been registered.
Nagasuresh, the agent who brought Ganesh into the scheme, has been named as a co-accused. Police are now tracking additional agents and urging more victims to come forward and file complaints.
