Radha files complaint against sister Ambika, brother alleging ₹50 crore cheque fraud

The Tamil actor accused her siblings of "trespassing" into her room to steal the cheques to unlawfully enrich themselves and clear these liabilities.

Veteran actor Udayachandrika, popularly known as Radha, filed a formal police complaint on Monday against her sister, actress Ambika Nair, and their brother, Mallikarjuna Kunjan Nair alias Arjun Nair, alleging they conspired to steal and forge invalid cheques to defraud her of nearly ₹50 crore.

Radha immediately requested a stop payment.

Radha alleges cheque fraud

As per the latest update from news agency PTI, in a detailed petition submitted to the Greater Chennai Police Commissioner, Radha stated she received an email alert from IDBI Bank's Porur branch on September 17. The alert notified her that five high-value cheques had been presented for encashment in Ambika's name. The cheques were written for ₹11 lakh, ₹13.17 crore, ₹27.73 crore ₹7 crore and ₹1.79 crore.

Radha immediately requested a stop payment, stating there was no money transaction or legally enforceable debt between her and her sister.

The complaint alleges the cheques were filled out in the handwriting of their brother, Mallikarjuna.

According to Radha, Mallikarjuna is involved in various financial crimes under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, and is currently under pressure to pay a massive penalty ordered by the Madras High Court in a 2025 FEMA case.

She accused her siblings of "trespassing" into her room to steal the cheques to unlawfully enrich themselves and clear these liabilities.

The cheques in question belonged to a 50-leaf book issued in 2022 for Radha's business under its former name, ARS Garden Studio. After officially updating the business name to "RR Gardens" under GST regulations in January 2025 and obtaining a new cheque book, Radha considered the old cheques invalid and left them as scrap in her room.

More details

Due to frequent business travel, Radha stated she kept five or six signed blank cheques in her room to cover regular maintenance and salary payments in her absence.

She noted that she stayed in the ground floor of her house in Valasaravakkam, where Ambika also resided and was allowed access to Radha's portion out of trust.

Following the discovery of the bank deposit, Radha alleged that she is now being unlawfully obstructed by Ambika and Mallikarjuna from verifying her valuables, which include gold and diamond ornaments, and property documents kept in the same room. Urging the police to investigate the conspiracy, the actress has sought strict criminal action against her siblings under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

(via inputs from PTI)