Torres scam: Hawala operator held after taking cover in Kumbh

Singh has been remanded to police custody till February 25. His is the tenth arrest in the Torres Jewellery scam. Police have identified the prime accused as several Ukranians and a Turk, who fled India just before the fraud came to light

MUMBAI: A hawala operator has been arrested in the Torres jewellery scam for helping the absconding Ukranian masterminds introduce unaccounted US dollars into the formal banking system in India. Mulund resident Lalan Singh, 58, was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police after he returned from the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj.

Mumbai, India. Jan 07, 2025: Heavy police security outside Torres's office in Dadar. 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 05, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

Singh was arrested late on Wednesday night from a mall in Vashi, shortly after he returned from Prayagraj, where he had taken cover for several days. Police said Singh had helped the prime accused, who have fled overseas, to introduce USD amounting to ₹13.78 crore into banking channels in India. Police said he used several dummy companies through which he transferred the cash into the bank accounts of the Ukranians, which they declared as loans.

The money was used by Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, the holding company of Torres Jewellery, to set up a chain of six showrooms in and around Mumbai and to operate the fraudulent business. These lavish showrooms acted as bait to attract small investors to purchase gold and silver jewellery and moissanite stones on the promise of handsome returns. More than 12,000 small investors have been defrauded of around ₹1,000 crore, according to the EOW investigation.

“Singh was on the run since January 6, the day the fraud surfaced. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched Singh’s premises in Mulund and that of Alpesh Khara, another hawala operator, from Opera House. We arrested Khara but Singh was absconding. We traced him to Prayagraj but could not pick him up due to the massive crowd at the Kumbh. We picked him up in Vashi after he returned to Mumbai,” said a police officer.

Singh has been remanded to police custody till February 25. His is the tenth arrest in the Torres Jewellery scam. Police have identified the prime accused as several Ukranians and a Turk, who fled India just before the fraud came to light.

Look-Out Circulars and Blue-Corner Notices have been issued against Olena Stoian, director of Platinum Hern (the Torres holding company), Viktoriia Kovalenko, also a director of Platinum Hern, Oleksandr Borovyk, Oleksandr Zapichenko, Oleksandra Brunkivska, Oleksandra Tredokhib, Artem Oliferchuk, Lurchenko Igor and Mustafa Karakoc.

Police said the absconding accused had operated similar scams in Ukraine and Turkey before they set up shop in Mumbai. Now they are believed to be running a similar scam in Bulgaria.