{
  "id": 8022201,
  "title": "Software employee saw ₹1.44 crore in his account, lost ₹22.8 lakh; two held in Andhra’s Nandyal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/software-employee-saw-1-44-crore-in-his-account-lost-22-8-lakh-two",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-17T12:13:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/software-employee-saw-144-crore-in-his-account-lost-228-lakh-two-held-in-andhras-nandyal/article71476273.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Dannada Mallikarjuna, a software employee from Kanala village, received an advertisement on social media about a stock market group on December 2, 2024. After depositing ₹22.8 lakh into the group's account, the balance on his account read ₹1,44,83,796. When he requested the money, he was informed that he needed to pay ₹25 lakh in taxes first. This prompted him to report the incident to the National Cyber Crime Helpline and file a complaint at the Sanjamala police station in January 2025.\n\nOn September 17, 2026, the Koilkuntla police apprehended two men, Kolusu Srikanth and Sanapala Sai Prakash Naidu, in connection with the case. They also recovered ₹25 lakh in cash, four mobile phones, and a laptop. Superintendent of Police Suneel Sheoran revealed the identities of the accused during a press conference, stating that they had recruited individuals through social media, convincing them to invest in a fake stock market group. The accused created a dedicated account for the victims and manipulated them into transferring money into various bank accounts, ultimately collecting a total of ₹22.8 lakh. The fraudsters then displayed false information showing a balance of ₹1.44 crore, which was later discovered to be a ruse.",
  "summary": "Asked to pay ₹25 lakh in “taxes” before he could withdraw his money, he realised he had been cheated",
  "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."
}