{
  "id": 13736669,
  "title": "₹2,459 crore Ponzi case: ED alleges investor funds routed through family accounts and firms; 35K duped — Details",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/2-459-crore-ponzi-case-ed-alleges-investor-funds-routed-through",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-11T14:19:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/india/2459-crore-ponzi-case-ed-alleges-investor-funds-routed-through-family-accounts-and-firms-35k-duped-details-11791722683155.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a complaint against five individuals and entities in a Mangaluru court, alleging they operated a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 35,000 investors of ₹2,459 crore, reported The Hindu. Mastermind Shivanand Siddappa Neelannavar and his firm Shivam Associates are among those named in the money-laundering case. Neelannavar was arrested in August and is currently in custody. The scheme allegedly offered investors a 3% guaranteed monthly return plus a 0.5% commission for referring new investors. Funds raised were mostly used to repay earlier investors, with the rest diverted for personal gain. The ED estimated that investors lost ₹2,125.60 crore, while ₹185.95 crore was lost in stock market trading. Around ₹25 crore was deposited in cooperative credit institutions for fixed deposits, which were then used as collateral for loans to buy land. Neelannavar's wife and son also received funds, as did related business ventures. The ED traced the money's flow through bank accounts, business ventures, and the commercial production of a Kannada film. Searches at eight locations across Belagavi, Chikkodi, and Nipani uncovered financial documents, handwritten audit records, and transaction data. Bank balances and fixed deposits worth ₹2.02 crore held by key associates were frozen. The probe stems from an FIR filed under several laws, including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishments Act, 2004.",
  "summary": "The Enforcement Directorate has filed a prosecution complaint against five individuals and entities over an alleged ₹2,459 crore Ponzi scheme that reportedly defrauded more than 35,000 investors. Alleged mastermind Shivanand Siddappa Neelannavar, arrested on August 13, remains in judicial custody.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}