Torres scam: Court allows ED to question 4 accused

The court directed the superintendents of Byculla and Arthur Road jail to allow the ED officers to question the accused on any five days between February 3 and February 14

MUMBAI: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to question three executives and one hawala operator associated with the Torres jewellery chain who were arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police in connection with the Ponzi scheme operated through six Torres outlets in Mumbai. The executives, Tazagul Xasatova, Valentina Kumar, and Sarvesh Ashok Surve, and the hawala operator, Alpesh Khara, are currently in judicial custody.

Torres scam: Court allows ED to question 4 accused

Special judge AC Daga passed the order on January 29, allowing the ED’s assistant director, Mumbai zone-II, Abhay Kumar, and enforcement officer, Mumbai zone-II, GBV Satyanarayana, to record the statements of the four accused under sections 50(2) and 50(3) of the PMLA.

The court directed the superintendents of Byculla and Arthur Road jail to allow the ED officers to question the accused and carry electronic gadgets which could be used for recording their statements on any five days between February 3 and February 14.

The ED had filed a miscellaneous application before the PMLA court seeking permission to record the statements of the four accused. The agency has conducted searches at various locations across Mumbai and Jaipur in connection with the Torres scam, resulting in the seizure of several documents, digital evidence, and the freezing of bank accounts with funds worth ₹21.75 crore.

The EOW has arrested six persons in the case, the latest being Tausif Riyaz, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Platinum Hern, Torres’ parent company, and Ukranian actor Armen Ataian.

Meanwhile, Valentina Kumar, the stores in-charge of Torres, has contended in her bail plea that she was not involved in the day-to-day business of the company and was wrongly arrested by the investigating agency.