Torres fraud: Three main accused denied bail

MUMBAI: A special court denied bail to three accused in the Torres Jewellery scam, which defrauded investors of crores, while investigations continue.

MUMBAI: A special MPID (Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act) court on Monday rejected the bail applications of three prime accused arrested in connection with the Torres Jewellery scam, which defrauded thousands of small investors of crores of rupees.

Torres fraud: Three main accused denied bail

The court rejected the pleas of Tazgul Xasatova, the alleged general manager; Valentina Kumar, the purported store-in charge; and Sarvesh Ashok Surve, the alleged director of Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, the holding company of the Torres brand.

Special Sessions Judge NP Mehta on Monday pronounced operative orders on their pleas.

The Torres fraud surfaced on January 6, when hundreds of investors gathered at various showrooms of the jewellery brand in and around Mumbai, when the company abruptly shut its stores and defaulted on payouts to its investors. The main accused in the case are also alleged to have transferred more than ₹200 crore outside India through USDT, a cryptocurrency.

In her bail plea, Xasatova had claimed that she had no connection with Platinum Hern, although she was shown as a general manager by another local manager, without any documentary proof. Both Kumar and Surve had also claimed that they had nothing to do with the fraud in their respective bail pleas.

Xasatova, an Uzbek, alleged that she came to India in 2007. She said she working as an interpreter and was not employed by any company. She claimed Platinum Hern had hired her as an interpreter in 2024 since its promoters were based in Ukraine and Russia. Upon receiving a frantic call from her friend, Valentina Kumar, on January 5, that investors were threatening to barge into the stores and demanding money, Xasatova rushed to her friend’s aid, she had claimed in her bail application.

Kumar had alleged that she was not involved in the day-to-day business of the company and was wrongly arrested by the investigating agency. Kumar is a Russian married to an Indian, with an 11-year-old daughter. She also alleged that she was only working as a translator with Platinum Hern.

The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police has so far arrested ten people in connection with the case, all of them currently in judicial custody. Apart from these ten accused, the EOW has issued Lookout Circulars and Blue-Corner Notices for several Ukranians and a Turkish national, alleged masterminds of the Torres scam, who are believed to have fled the country.

The court is currently hearing the bail applications of the remaining accused.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate has also approached the special court, seeking its permission to record the statements of Surve, Kumar, Xasatova along with an alleged hawala operator, Alpesh Khara, and the CEO of Platinum Hern, Tausif Riyaz, in connection with its money laundering investigation into the case.