Mumbai: The city Economic Offences Wing (EOW) suspects that the Torres Jewellers scam accused, mainly foreign nationals, have taken out around Rs 90 crore out of the country in the form of cryptocurrency.
The police on Monday filed a 27,147-page chargesheet and added sections of the the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, 2019 in the case. “The new Act was added in the case after receiving an RBI report that stated that the company was not registered with them for accepting deposits,” said a senior EOW officer. This is the first time the BUDS Act has been invoked by the EOW in a case.
The Shivaji Park police on Jan 6 registered an FIR in the alleged investment fraud case of Rs 13.48 crore. Office-bearers of Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, which ran Torres Jewellers, were named as accused.
As investors learnt about the shutting down of the offices of the Torres Jewellers store, there was panic and thousands of investors, mostly from the middle class, approached the police. The probe was handed over to the EOW.
Cops are waiting for a forensic auditor’s report to establish the money trail.
Those named in the chargesheet include M/s Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, the company’s Uzbek general manager Taniya Xasatova (52), Russian store-in-charge Valentina Kumar (44), director Sarvesh Surve (30), CEO Tausif Riyaz alias John Carter (33), Ukrainian actor who worked in Mumbai Armen Atian, alleged hawala operator Alpesh Khara and Lallan Singh, who allegedly converted cash into ‘look-like’ legitimate banking transactions for the accused company.
So far, 14,157 investors, who lost Rs 142.58 crore have submitted complaints to police.
A majority of investors invested in Dec last year, sources said. On the first day those who approached police included a student who lost Rs 50,000. He had seen a senior student in the college making a profit through these schemes. A housewife mortgaged her jewellery and invested her and her family’s sum of Rs 12.5 lakh a few days before the scam came to light. A Mumbra man said he invested Rs 75,000 a day before the shops were shut. Same was the case with several investors who were lured with promise of 11% profit if they invested before Jan 5. The investors could check their investment, profit and balance on the company’s app, said an investor.
Torres has five stores — at Grant Road, Dadar, Sanpada, Mira Road and Kalyan — and had plans to open a sixth in Kandivli. The accused started the Ponzi scheme on Feb 24, 2024, and allegedly lured investors with 10-12% per week returns, with bonuses for cash investments and referrals. Investors were also enticed with promises of moissanite diamond gifts and entries into lucky draws, offering prizes like luxury cars and flats. Police have found the company distributed 15 high-end cars as incentive to agents for bringing in investors and are probing it.
The company was run by local employees while the foreigners conspired to cheat people. Most of the foreigner accused fled the country in Dec last week, stating they were going to their native countries and would return after Christmas.
Among the 204 witnesses named in the chargesheet is the company’s chartered accountant, whose statement is attached. He had claimed he was a whistleblower. Police have got permission from court to auction the seized furniture. Money fetched from auction will be refunded to investors.
The probe is being done under supervision of EOW joint CP Nishith Mishra, DCP Sangramsinh Nishandar and senior inspector Ramesh Yadav.