Over a dozen suspects are being questioned by the Hyderabad Central Crime Station police in connection with Telugu Akademi’s ₹64.50 crore fixed deposits fraud.
The suspects include Akademi staff, bank officials, and a few private persons linked to prime accused and mastermind of the fraud Chunduri Venkata Koti Sai Kumar.
So far, police have arrested 13 persons, including Sai Kumar, Akademi’s accounts officer S. Ramesh, managers of Union Bank of India and Canara Bank, Shaik Mastanvali and M. Sadhana, respectively.
They are also interrogating six arrested persons after taking them into police custody as part of the investigation.
“The investigation is expedited. More arrests are likely to happen in a day or two. Our teams have also launched a manhunt for the absconding accused,” an officer said.
He said that three persons — Akademi outsourced employee Vinay, and Sai Kumar’s associates Bhupati and Venkata Ramana — who were arrested on Saturday, used to liaison paperworks between banks and the scam-hit Akademi, including facilitating fake documents, forged FDR bonds.
“Fake letters which were submitted in banks on behalf of the Akademi were processed on priority basis by Mastanvali and Sadhana. The trio acted as couriers in the fraud,” the officer said.
Police also said that Sai Kumar swindled over ₹20 crore in ₹64.50 crore fixed deposit fraud and next to him were Chairman and Managing Director of A.P. Mercantile Cooperative Credit Society Ltd., (APMCCS) Vijayawada B.V.V.N. Satyanarayana Rao and realtor Nandui Venkata Raman, ₹10 and ₹7 crore, respectively.
Sai Kumar was previously involved in similar offences in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai. He withdrew the FDRs of AP Minority Welfare Society in 2012 and the case is being investigated by the Crime Investigation Department (CID). Sai Kumar was also accused in AP Housing Board Scam of nearly ₹6 crore and ₹25 crore FDR fraud of Northern CoalFields in Chennai, both cases are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
