Torres fraud: Court allows ED to quiz four jailed accused

While recording statement of the hawala operator, the ED had said he mentioned conversion of USDT, a cryptocurrency, into cash

MUMBAI: A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court on Tuesday allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to question four prime accused in the Torres Jewellery fraud lodged in two jails in the city. The four arrested accused, in judicial custody at the Byculla and Arthur Road jails, are Tausif Riyaz, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Platinum Hern, the holding company of Torres Jewellery; Tazagul Xasatova; Valentina Kumar; and Sarvesh Ashok Surve.

Mumbai, India. Jan 10, 2025: Investors gathered in large numbers outside the office of Torres Jewellers in Dadar, Mumbai, demanding the return of their principal amounts after the company failed to pay the promised returns on its investment schemes. The Mumbai police booked the company's directors for committing multi-million fraud. Mumbai, India. Jan 10, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

Earlier this month, the court had allowed the ED to record the statements of Xasatova, Kumar and Surve along with an alleged hawala operator, Alpesh Khara. However, this application, the second one moved by the ED, names Riyaz as well.

While recording Khara’s statement, the ED had said that he had referred a contact of his to Riyaz for conversion of USDT, a cryptocurrency, into cash. However, the ED said they could not record the statements of Xasatova, Kumar and Surve because they had to first record the statements of various other persons involved in the scam.

“Further interrogation and examination of the said respondents is necessary to trace the proceeds of the crime as well as the modus operandi followed by them,” said the ED in its application. The Torres Jewellery scam, which surfaced on January 6, is a multi-crore investment fraud that has cheated more than 12,000 small investors of money they had invested in silver, gold and moissanite stones. Ten arrests have been made so far.

In an order on Tuesday, special sessions judge AC Daga directed the ED to record statements on any five days between February 27 and March 21. The court directed the superintendents of the Byculla jail and Arthur Road jail, where the accused are lodged, to allow the ED to record statements of the four accused.

“The superintendents of Byculla jail and Arthur Road jail are further directed to allow the abovementioned officers to carry electronic gadgets i.e. mobile phone, laptop, printer, pen drive etc. along with them for the purpose of recording statements,” the order stated.

The ED has submitted that Kumar, Xasatova, Surve and Riyaz are primary suspects in its Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) as “they played a pivotal role in the day-to-day business operations of Platinum Hern Private Limited, as well as in the conversion of cash received from customers into USDT cryptocurrency and its subsequent transfer outside India”.

The ED said it is seeking the statements of the accused to reveal the proceeds of the crime, aid its investigation into the laundering of the proceeds of the crime, and to ascertain the tainted properties derived by the accused. The agency said Xasatova and Kumar played a key role in the Torres scam, whereas Riyaz handled all the business affairs of the company.

The Torres fraud surfaced on January 6, when thousands of investors started protesting outside various stores under the Torres Jewellery brand in and around Mumbai, after being cheated of returns on their investments. These investors had been lured to invest in schemes that promised unbelievable weekly returns on the purchase of gold, jewellery and moissanite stones.

Apart from the ten arrests, the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police has issued Lookout Circulars and Blue-Corner Notices for several Ukranians and a Turk, the alleged masterminds of the Torres scam, who are believed to have fled the country.