Overview

• Gaddam Venugopal and Shreyas Paul were arrested on August 19 in Hyderabad after investigators linked them to a network that duped more than 3,000 investors.
• The operation used AI-themed trading platforms, fabricated profit dashboards, referral recruitment and promises of 7% monthly returns while projecting fake SEBI, NSE and BSE credentials.
• Funds moved through 21 mule bank accounts, were layered to obscure origins and were diverted into real estate, gold and luxury vehicles with international laundering routes that included Dubai.
• Police seized luxury cars, electronic devices, financial records, property papers and a database of 3,164 victims, and they say the group deleted digital evidence and intimidated complainants.
• Between 2022 and 2025 the network collected ₹850.59 crore, returned ₹618.23 crore as partial payouts and retained ₹232.36 crore, and a case is registered with further arrests and fund tracing under way.