Mumbai: ED searches in Torres Ponzi case linked money laundering case

Mumbai, Jan 23 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches in the Torres investment "fraud" linked money laundering case where a number of investors have been allegedly duped, officials said.

About 10-12 locations in Mumbai and Jaipur in Rajasthan are being raided, they said.

The federal agency had some time back filed a criminal complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) taking cognisance of a Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) FIR to initiate investigation.

More than 3,700 investors have so far approached the Mumbai police with complaints of being cheated and the fraud amount is over Rs 57 crore, according to officials.

The jewellery company that owns the Torres brand is accused of cheating investors of crores of rupees through a combination of Ponzi and multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes The scam came to light when hundreds of investors gathered at the jewellery brand's store situated at Torres Vastu Centre building in Dadar (West) early this month as the company stopped paying sums promised to them.

The police had arrested three accused-- Tazagul Xasatov, a Uzbekistan national, Valentina Ganesh Kumar, a Russian national and Sarvesh Surve -- all senior executives of the firm, in this case till now.

Investigators have said that the promoters of Torres jewellery brand had promised cars, flats, gift cards and hampers to attract investors.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said police officials committed dereliction of duty by failing to take prompt action in the Torres investment scam. "Nobody has acted with alacrity," a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale said.

Both the police and the ED are looking to find the mastermind of the fraud, who started the jewellery company (Platinum Hern) that owns the Torres brand and from where the accused got the initial fund for the firm, the sources said. PTI NES DV DV

Source: PTI