ED registers money laundering case in Torres Ponzi case

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case to probe the Torres investment “fraud” of about ₹38 crore where a number of investors have been allegedly duped, officials said on January 14, 2025.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case to probe the Torres investment "fraud" of about ₹38 crore where a number of investors have been allegedly duped, officials said on Tuesday (January 14, 2025).

The federal agency has taken cognisance of a Mumbai Police (Shivaji Park police station) FIR to book a case under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said. The case was later transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.

According to the police, 1,916 investors have complained about being cheated so far in Ponzi schemes operated by a private firm owning the 'Torres' jewellery brand.

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.

The police, while seeking the accused's further remand, said at present the magnitude of the scam has reached ₹38 crore and the amount is expected to rise further as investigations move forward.

The ED is expected to question them and also gather additional "evidence" to go into the depth of the alleged Ponzi scam. Sources said it may summon some persons for questioning too.