Torres scam: Mumbai Police seizes cash, valuables worth Rs 24.49 crore

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The Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is probing the Torres investment scam, has so far seized cash and valuables worth Rs 24.49 crore during searches at various places, officials said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.

EOW officials found Rs 15.81 crore in various bank accounts linked to those accused of committing the alleged scam, an official said.

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During the searches, the agency seized Rs 5.98 crore cash, he said.

So far, 3711 investors have approached the Mumbai Police with complaints of being cheated and the fraud amount has risen to Rs 57.56 crore, he said.

According to the complainants, a private firm owning the 'Torres' jewellery brand duped them on the promise of attractive returns on investment, he said.

The scam came to light when hundreds of investors gathered at the jewellery brand's store situated at Torres Vastu Centre building in Dadar (West) early this month after the company stopped paying sums promised to them.

Tazagul Xasatov, a Uzbekistan national, Valentina Ganesh Kumar, a Russian national, and Sarvesh Surve 'all senior executives of the firm' are among those arrested in the case, the news agency reported.

Torres investment scam: ED registers case under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an ECIR under relevant sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the Torres Ponzi scheme case. It is alleged that large-scale financial fraud took place in this case, where the accused duped lower-middle-class investors by promising high returns.

According to sources, the ED's case is based on an FIR registered by the Shivaji Park Police in Mumbai. The complainant, a vegetable vendor, claimed that approximately 1.25 lakh investors had invested in Torres. Given the seriousness of the matter, the case was later transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for further investigation. The EOW has so far 2000 complainants who have invested with Torres.

Meanwhile, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) investigating the Torres scam informed the court that the diamonds and stones sold to thousands of investors were fake. They established this during the initial stages of the investigation, while detailed reports on the gold jewellery are still awaited.

Officials revealed that stones worth Rs 500 to Rs 1000 were sold at exorbitant prices in the guise of high-value gems. Most of the victims, primarily from the lower middle class, were duped using certificates displayed on a website, gra-gems.com, which was allegedly created by Ukrainian scammers. The three accused arrested in the case were produced before the court, and their custody has been extended for further investigation by the EOW.

(with PTI inputs)