Two absconding Ukranians brains behind Torres fraud

They said they were going home for Christmas but never returned; employees ransacked the stores as they panicked

MUMBAI: The Torres Jewellery fraud was conceived and planned by two Ukranians, who fled the country just before the scam surfaced less than a week ago. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, investigating the investment scam, said the two absconding Ukrainians - Viktoriia Kovalenko and Olena Stoin – were the brains behind the fraud, which has cost thousands of small investors crores of rupees.

Uzbek national Tania Kasatova (in pic) and Russian national Valentino Ganesh Kumar were arrrested on Tuesday in connection with the case

According to the police, Kovalenko and Stoin told their colleagues and other employees that they were returning home for the Christmas break but never returned. When Torres’s employees realised that the two senior executives were not coming back, they ransacked the stores as they realised they would have to forfeit salaries and other dues. The chaos at the stores, particularly in Dadar and Sanpada in Navi Mumbai, alerted investors in the Ponzi schemes run by Torres that something was amiss and they began to gather outside the jewellery stores from Monday.

As the staff were busy vandalizing the showrooms, senior management turned on each other, leading to the arrest of Torres’s director Tania Kasatova, an Uzbek national, and store in-charge Valentino Ganesh Kumar, a Russian. “We suspect they were fighting over their share in the takings. When the employees learnt about it, they ransacked stores,” said a police officer. Some employees approached the local Shivaji Park police, which arrested the two foreigners.

CEO, a Class 10 fail!

Police have also learnt that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tausif Reyaz, who is on the run, was a school dropout. He had not even cleared the Class 10 exam. An Aadhar centre operator in Byculla and a resident of Virar, Reyaz had been approached by the Ukrainians to head the company. It was Reyaz who introduced them to Sarvesh Surve, who was appointed as a director of the company.

Police said that Reyaz was asked to wear formal clothing to look like a CEO and was paid for the charade. Surve, who was arrested on Monday, was a director only on paper and was paid ₹25,000 per month.

“Viktoriia is named as an accused by the Shivaji Park police, while Olena Stoin has been named as an accused by the Navghar police in Mira Road. So far, only three arrests have been made.

Seized stones were bought from local market

Police have found that Torres had purchased moissanite stones, at the centre of the investment fraud, for ₹300 apiece from the local market. They had been pitched as precious stones to investors. “We have seized around ₹5.77 crore from the house of Tania in Colaba. The arrested accused are not co-operating and have been telling us that they were translators for the Ukrainian main accused,” said the police officer.

Meanwhile, the Shivaji Park police have started an inquiry into the June letter sent to Torres Jewellery by a police sub-inspector. Despite the letter, no action was taken against Torres.

For their part, the Navghar police on Friday arrested three people in connection with the Torres scam in Bhayandar. The arrested accused are Lakshmi Yadav, who rented the office space for the store at Ramdev Park in Mira Road; store supervisor Nitit Lakhwani (47); and manager Kaiser Khalid Sheikh (52).

Cash amounting to over ₹26 lakh has been seized from the manager and cashier. All three were produced before the Thane sessions court on Friday. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1, Prakash Gaikwad visited the jewellery store at Ramdev Park along with Senior Police Inspector of the Navghar Police Station, Dheeraj Koli.