The officials said that Tausef Reyaz was arrested by the EOW on Saturday night near Pune district of Maharashtra
Representational Pic/File
The Economic Offense Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police on Sunday said that it has arrested the absconding accused and self-proclaimed 'whistleblower', Tausef Reyaz, in connection with the Torres scam.
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The officials said that Reyaz was arrested by the EOW on Saturday night near Pune district of Maharashtra.
Reyaz, who was serving as the CEO of Torres, had written to multiple agencies about the fraud just two days before it was exposed.
He will be produced in court of Sunday, the officials said.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into the Torres investment fraud, which is linked to a money laundering case.
The fraud has reportedly duped thousands of investors, with the total amount involved exceeding Rs 57 crore.
According to officials, the federal agency is targeting 10 to 12 locations in Mumbai and Jaipur in Rajasthan. These raids are part of the ED’s investigation following a criminal complaint filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on an FIR by the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW). The complaint relates to allegations that Torres, a jewellery brand, misled and cheated investors through a Ponzi scheme and multi-level marketing (MLM) tactics.
As of now, more than 3,700 investors have filed complaints with the Mumbai police, claiming they were defrauded by Torres.
The investors had reportedly been promised lucrative returns, only for the company to stop making payments earlier this month. The fraud came to light when hundreds of disgruntled investors gathered at the Torres jewellery store in the Torres Vastu Centre building in Dadar (West), demanding their promised sums.
The police have arrested three key suspects in the case including Tazagul Xasatov, an Uzbekistani national; Valentina Ganesh Kumar, a Russian national; and Sarvesh Surve, all senior executives of the Torres company.
The investigators had allegedly disclosed that the company’s promoters enticed investors by offering extravagant rewards such as cars, flats, gift cards, and hampers to draw them into their fraudulent schemes.
The Bombay High Court, in a recent hearing, had reprimanded the police for their slow response to the case.