Torres case: Court allows ED to question hawala operator in jail

MUMBAI: A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court on Friday allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to question Lalan Singh, the hawala operator arrested in connection with the Torres jewellery fraud in which thousands of investors from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region lost crores of rupees.

Special judge AC Daga allowed ED to question the 58-year-old Mulund resident, who is currently under judicial custody in the Arthur Road Jail, for any two days between March 8 and March 14, 2025. The court directed the jail superintendent to allow ED’s assistant director Abhay Kumar, and enforcement officers GBV Satyanarayana, Shubham Pensia and Ankur Tripathi to record Singh’s statement under sections 50(2) and 50(3) of the PML Act, 2002.

Singh is accused of helping the absconding Ukranian masterminds introduce unaccounted US dollars into the formal banking system in India. As per the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, Singh helped the prime accused, who fled overseas, to introduce USD amounting to ₹13.78 crore into banking channels in India by using dummy companies to transfer the cash into the bank accounts of the Ukranians.

Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, the holding company of Torres jewellery brand, used this money to set up a chain of six showrooms in and around Mumbai to operate the fraudulent business. Hundreds of small investors lost their money after investing in schemes floated by the brand that promised unbelievable weekly returns on the purchase of gold, jewellery and moissanite stone.

Singh was arrested by EOW on February 20 this year, after he returned from the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj. He is the tenth person to be taken into custody in connection with the multi-crore fraud case.

Before Singh, the ED had questioned Tausif Riyaz, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Platinum Hern, Alpesh Khara, a hawala operator, and Sarvesh Surve, Tania Xsatova and Valentina Kumar, who allegedly held top-level positions in the store.

Look-Out Circulars and Blue-Corner Notices were issued against Olena Stoian, director of Platinum Hern, Viktoriia Kovalenko, also a director of Platinum Hern, Oleksandr Borovyk, Oleksandr Zapichenko, Oleksandra Brunkivska, Oleksandra Tredokhib, Artem Oliferchuk, Lurchenko Igor and Mustafa Karakoc.