Torres fraud: Cops register 10,848 complaints worth ₹117.63 cr

MUMBAI: Police have received complaints from 10,848 investors in the Torres Jewellery fraud, the sum involved amounting to ₹117.63 crore. This was stated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police on Monday before the special MPID court hearing the case.

Police also told the court that the Ukrainian actor arrested in the case, Armen Gurun Ataian (48), had obtained fake Indian identity documents, including a birth certificate issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Ataian, who played play minor roles in films and web series, was arrested in Mumbai on January 28. He is accused of helping the prime accused set up Platinum Hern Private Limited, the firm that owned Torres brand, to get the company registered and open jewellery stores across the Mumbai metropolitan region. Ataian’s name came up in the investigation following the interrogation of Tausif Riyaz, alias John Carter, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Platinum Hern.

Riyaz was arrested on January 26 from a hotel in Lonavala after being on the run for three weeks. Riyaz, a self-proclaimed whistle-blower, is accused of being the key link in helping the several Ukrainian foreigners set up a base in India. Ataian and Riyaz were produced before the special MPID (Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors) court on Monday for remand.

The EOW said that until January 31, they had received complaints from 10,848 investors who lost ₹117.63 crore in investment schemes, including Ponzi schemes, floated by the Torres Jewellery chain. The investigating agency submitted that they had frozen around ₹18.47 crore from the bank account of the firm as well as the arrested accused.

Riyaz, in his statement to the police, said that he met Ataian in August 2022, while working in the shop of a friend, which used to help customers apply for PAN cards, fill out forms for passports, issue marriage certificates etc. He said the actor had come to the shop to make a PAN card for himself. The EOW said that Ataian had introduced Riyaz to the Ukranians, wanted in the case, and helped the latter establish the chain of Torres showrooms.

Ataian, during interrogation, claimed to be an Indian citizen, said the EOW, and submitted a birth certificate and Aadhaar card as proof of this. However, the investigating agency said, the birth certificate issued by the BMC had been forged.

Ataian, who was living in Madh in Mumbai along with two Russians, had provided false information about being an Indian citizen, and held a Ukranian passport and was a citizen of Ukraine, the EOW told the court.

Riyaz has been claiming that he was framed and was made the CEO of the company after the prime accused fled the country. Advocate Vivek Tiwari and advocate Trupen Rathod, representing Ataian and Riyaz, claimed that Riyaz had informed the police about the fraud via email on January 4.

Riyaz was not involved in the day-to-day activities of the showroom and had not accepted any deposits from customers, submitted the advocates. The lawyers maintained that Ataian’s name was not in the FIR, submitting that he did not accept any deposits from customers.

The special MPID court observed that no ground has been made for police custody and sent the duo to judicial custody till February 15, after going through the remand report and the case papers.

The EOW has issued Lookout Circulars and Blue Corner Notices for Olena Stoian, director of Platinum Hern; Viktoriia Kovalenko; Oleksandr Borovyk; Oleksandr Zapichenko; Oleksandra Brunkivska; Oleksandra Tredokhib; Artem Oliferchuk; Lurchenko Igor; and Mustafa Karakoc in connection with the case.

The fraud surfaced on January 6, after six stores under the Torres Jewellery brand abruptly shut a year after luring thousands of small investors to invest in schemes that promised unbelievable weekly returns on the purchase of gold, jewellery and moissanite stones. Apart from Ataian and Riyaz, police have arrested the general manager of Platinum Hearn, Taniya Xasatova alias Tazagul Xasatova, an Uzbek; director, Sarvesh Surve; store in-charge Valentina Ganesh Kumar, of Russian origin; and hawala operator, Alpesh Khare.