Multi-crore Torres Ponzi scam: Police waiting for threat perception report in whistle blower’s plea for protection

MUMBAI: The state government on Friday informed the Bombay high court (HC) that the additional commissioner of police (police protection and security) was waiting for a threat perception report before responding to the application for police protection filed by Abhishek Gupta, a chartered accountant, who claims to be the whistle-blower in the Torres Jewellery fraud. The jewellery store chain defrauded more than 125,000 investors from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to the tune of ₹1,000 crore. Investors were enticed with extraordinarily high returns—48% annually on gold, 96% on silver, and 520% annually on moissanite purchases, with weekly pay-outs. The company masqueraded as a legitimate business while executing fraudulent schemes.

A bench of justice Revati Mohite-Dere and justice Dr Neela Gokhale posted the plea for further hearing on Monday. Gupta approached the high court on Thursday, seeking police protection since he apprehended a threat to his life and allegedly faced multiple attempts of assault. Gupta, who audited the accounts of Platinum Hern Private Limited—the entity behind Torres Jewellery— had stated in his plea that he is a “vulnerable witness” facing the risk of being “eliminated by individuals responsible for the scam.”

Gupta’s petition claimed that he was introduced to Platinum Hern by one of its directors, whom he informed about discrepancies in the company’s accounts. Subsequently, Gupta had alleged that he was summoned to the company’s corporate office in Lower Parel, where three Ukrainian nationals—two men and one woman—intimidated him. He was allegedly offered a bribe of ₹5 crore to remain silent and was threatened with harm if he disclosed the fraud.

Despite filing complaints with the NM Joshi Marg police station, Gupta’s plea had asserted that his grievances were ignored.

He had reported facing multiple threats and attempts at assault by unidentified individuals. The petition had detailed that Gupta prepared Platinum Hern’s audit report on December 26, 2024, and approached the authorities three days later but was not heard. He claims to have subsequently alerted the police, the Enforcement Directorate, and other agencies about the irregularities.