Torres scam: A month later, six held; 8 Ukrainians, one Turkish still at large

Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) soon took implicit the investigation. Since then, determination person been arrests, Blue Corner Notices, searches and seizures, adjacent arsenic galore much investors proceed to question answers.

Over a period aft the complaints began pouring in, the Mumbai Police present assertion that determination are implicit 12,000 investors who person travel guardant reporting frauds worthy Rs 125 crore and the suspected Ponzi strategy was being tally by the accused company, Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, which runs the Torres jewellery brand.

The marque had showrooms successful six locations successful the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including Dadar, Grant Road.

Investors were lured with iPhones, jewellery

The company, incorporated successful April 2023, allegedly floated aggregate schemes encouraging them to bargain jewellery, chiefly moissanite stones oregon American diamonds and offered exorbitant play involvement rates, with immoderate yielding an yearly instrumentality of up to 500 per cent.

Initially, investors were lured with incentives specified arsenic iPhones, jewellery and different costly gifts, including branded bags, cars, and apartments. However, the institution abruptly stopped paying successful the past period of December 2024, causing alarm among investors.
Many investors were seen crying extracurricular the constabulary presumption arsenic they broke fixed deposits, took retired high-interest loans, and adjacent mortgaged jewellery and homes to put successful these lucrative but yet fraudulent schemes. Besides Shivaji Park constabulary station, the FIRs were registered by Navghar constabulary successful Mira Bhayander, Rabodi constabulary successful Thane, and APMC constabulary successful Navi Mumbai.

Six arrests

The constabulary initially arrested 3 persons — Tazagul Xasatova, an Uzbekistan national, who they claimed were the company’s wide manager; the company’s manager Sarvesh Ashok Surve and Valentina Ganesh Kumar, the store in-charge. More arrests followed with the company’s CEO Tausif Reyaz alias John Carter, alleged hawala relation Alpesh Khara and an Ukrainian nationalist and histrion Armen Atayin, nabbed by the police.

Before their arrests, Reyaz and Surve and 1 chartered accountant Abhishek Gupta, were claiming that they were “whistleblowers”, with aggregate emails with identical contented sent retired to assorted authorities betwixt December 30, 2024 to January 3, 2025, claiming that the wealth invested was utilized to acquisition cryptocurrency and different done different means, the wealth was taken retired of the state successful a “well-organised transverse borderline operation”, allegedly involving overseas nationals.

Gupta besides approached the Bombay High Court seeking protection, claiming that portion doing an audit for the company, helium came crossed assorted discrepancies and flouting of laws.

The constabulary named 9 others arsenic wanted accused including 8 Ukrainian nationals and a Turkish nationalist and bluish country notices person been issued against them done Interpol.

Police person issued bluish country announcement against suspected mastermind Olena Stoian, manager of Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, Victoria Kovalenko, Mustafa Karakoc, Oleksandr Borovyk, Oleksandr Zapichenko, Oleksandra Brunkivska, Oleksandra Tredokhib, Artem Oliferchuk and Iurchenko Igor. Mustafa Karakoc is simply a Turkish nationalist portion the remainder are Ukrainian nationals.

The suspected Ukrainian masterminds of the Torres fraud alleged to person sent Rs 200 crore overseas successful cryptocurrency form, arsenic claimed successful the emails sent by alleged whistleblowers to the constabulary and different instrumentality enforcement agencies earlier the substance came to the public.

Khara was liable for illegally converting the currency into USDT cryptocurrency, the whistleblower’s emails claimed. EOW investigators recovered worldly successful the CA Gupta’s contentions and judge that the full contented and findings of the whistleblower’s emails are prepared by Gupta and different accused utilized it to shield them from action.

The constabulary are besides investigating claims that the accused illegally brought important amounts of golden (25kg) and metallic (75kg) into the country, arsenic alleged successful the whistleblowers’ emails. The whistleblowers’ emails allege that astir 60,000 radical invested wealth successful Torres.
Tazagul and Valentina, meanwhile, person claimed innocence and maintained that they were conscionable employees of the institution and were not progressive successful the concern decisions. The constabulary person besides truthful acold recovered that arrested accused Atayin is simply a Ukrainian nationalist but had managed to get an Indian commencement certificate, which erstwhile verified with the civic assemblage was recovered to beryllium forged.

An EOW serviceman said, “There could beryllium much suspects who whitethorn beryllium progressive successful the wide fraud. The probe is underway. Soon a forensic auditor whitethorn beryllium appointed successful the lawsuit to analyse the fiscal irregularities that took spot astatine the Torres offices.”

‘Scam destroyed my life’

Meanwhile, the investors proceed to conflict and inactive haven’t recovered from the daze and nonaccomplishment Torres scam has near them in. “I adjacent thought of ending my life. This scam has destroyed my and my family’s life,” said Geeta Gupta, a widower from Sweri.

She added, “I already had suffered a nonaccomplishment of Rs 20 lakh successful my beingness and successful a hopeless effort to retrieve soon, I got trapped successful Torres scam and mislaid Rs 15 lakh. I americium forced to owe my belongings to wage for the rent of my house. I don’t cognize however I americium going to grip things successful future….”

DP Singh, 1 of the investors, said, “I mortgaged my wife’s jewellery and withdrew currency from my brother’s recognition card. Choosing hopeless ways to travel retired from poorness and falling prey to greed, near maine poorer.”

Another capitalist said, “I haven’t heard thing from the constabulary yet connected the refund of money. I cognize the ineligible strategy takes time, but astatine slightest victims investors should beryllium communicated astir the lawsuit developments oregon fixed immoderate assurance.”

A unfortunate capitalist who mislaid Rs 20 lakh, connected information of anonymity, said, “My hubby is suffering from liver cancer and lad is studying MBA. My ailing hubby is unaware of the catastrophe his household is going under. I thought the scheme’s wealth would assistance maine successful taking attraction of my husband’s treatment, hence I mortgaged my ornaments. After discovering the fraud, I went into depression… We person near with thing and conscionable anticipation that we get our wealth back.”

Advocate Sunny Punamiya, representing unfortunate investors successful the case, said, “The unfortunate investors person invested their beingness savings and pledged the household jewellery to put successful products and schemes floated by Torres. The numbers tally successful thousands if not lakhs.”

Punamiya, connected behalf of investors, filed an exertion successful the tribunal seeking directives to constabulary to get a forensic audit conducted to ascertain the way of money, to contented apprehension warrants against those accused who are inactive absconding, to place and connect properties nether MPID Act
Advocate Vivek Tiwari who is representing the alleged whistle blower and CA Abhishek Gupta, said, “A period has passed aft the wide fraud surfaced, but inactive the WhatsApp transmission of Torres is functional and immoderate investors are inactive getting assurance that they would soon get their invested wealth with bonus. This seems to beryllium an effort from the culprits to distract investors and constabulary from identifying their assets successful India oregon abroad. The constabulary are soundless astir assets of the accused institution and its functionaries successful India. The investigators are besides soundless connected what happened to the immense magnitude Torres had fixed to landlords arsenic deposit portion taking stores connected rent.”

Besides EOW, the ED is besides probing the lawsuit and trying to hint the wealth trail. Both the probe agencies had conducted searches astatine assorted locations linked to Torres and its functionaries. The agencies person truthful acold seized and frozen valuables, including currency worthy astir Rs 30 crore.