According to Yemmiganur police, Malyadri and Venkateshwarlu set up the company in Ongole town of Prakasam district in 2011, and started collecting money for various investment schemes.
"They collected a total of Rs 19 crore from thousands of depositors and initially gave high returns, but later they began to default on payments," a police officer said.
The two were booked for cheating and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code, and under the AP Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act.