Hyderabad’s Central Crime Station (CCS) has filed a new case against retired IAS officer Dayachari Ponnekanti and APIND Financial Services Pvt Ltd, accused of defrauding a US-based software entrepreneur of $540,000 (around Rs 3.16 crore) in a purported sea sand export project to Singapore. The case was registered on February 18 under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
The complaint, filed by Vikramaditya Boppudi, CEO of Prime Solutions Inc., Washington DC, alleges that Ponnekanti presented official-looking documents with government emblems and persuaded him to invest in a “turn-key, government-cleared” venture in 2012.
Promises Made, Money Transferred, but No Returns
Vikramaditya stated that he transferred the funds to multiple accounts in Hyderabad, Singapore, the US, and Thailand after being promised a 16.67% stake in the joint venture. Despite repeated follow-ups and acknowledgements of receipt from Ponnekanti through emails in 2013, no share certificates or refunds were ever issued.
According to the complainant, a memorandum of understanding in September 2024 even promised an Rs 8 crore settlement through the sale of land in Patancheru, but this too did not materialise.
Previous Cases and Ongoing Investigation
CCS police confirmed that a similar cheating case involving Ponnekanti, filed in 2025 by another NRI investor, Kommineni Kalyana, is still under investigation. Evidence for the latest case is currently being collected as authorities probe repeated allegations against the retired bureaucrat and his company.
