Mumbai’s Torres jewellery scam has Ukrainian ties: What we know about Ponzi scheme and crores of investment

Investigators probing an investment scam linked to a Torres jewellery store in Dadar, Maharashtra, found that Ukraine nationals were among the key accused in the case. Police arrested three persons in connection with the “scam”. Among those absconding are two Ukrainian nationals who are believed to have fled to their country, news agency PTI reported.

The Torres jewellery company was reportedly accused of cheating investors of crores of rupees through a combination of Ponzi and multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes. Torres allegedly duped hundreds of depositors by promising them high returns on investment. Officials told news agency PTI that more and more investors are coming forward to lodge a complaint

According to NDTV, six stores of the Torres jewellery chain closed last week after crores of investments were made in a scheme promising big returns.

So far, three persons have been arrested. Among those absconding are two Ukrainian nationals who are believed to have fled to their country, the report added. An official from the Navghar police station said that offences were registered against the management and staff of the company.

The Scheme

In February last year, the Torres outlets opened at six locations in and around the Maximum City. They sold gemstone jewellery and offered a bonus scheme.

Under this scheme, a customer who invested ₹1 lakh would get a pendant with a moissanite stone worth ₹10,000, NDTV reported. It added that the customers later realised these stones were fake.

Customers were promised 6 percent interest on their investment to be paid out across 52 weeks. This interest rate climbed to 11 percent. Customers said they got some payouts over the past year, but they stopped about two months back, NDTV reported.

Torres had reportedly posted a video on YouTube announcing that it will provide 11 percent interest on investments made before January 5, after which the rate will dip. The company encouraged cash payments by offering 0.5 percent extra interest. However, on January 6, the stores were shut. The investors realised they had been scammed.

Ukrainian link

Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing, which is investigating the Torres jewellery scam, zeroed in on the role of Ukrainian nationals Artem and Olena Stoin. Police sources told NDTV that the two played a key role in conspiring how people can be lured with huge returns on their investment in gemstones, gold and silver.

₹22 crore involved

The Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing carried out raids in Colaba, Dadar, and Dombivali. They confiscated important documents, investment papers, and cash as part of their probe into the alleged scam.

An official said on Friday that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police seized ₹5 crore in cash, deposited by investors, from a Torres jewellery store in Dadar and a flat in the city. “The estimate of the total amount involved in the scam stood at ₹22 crore,” he was quoted by PTI as saying. The seizure was made during searches on Thursday.

Meanwhile, ₹77 lakh was recovered from a flat rented by Tania alias Tazagul Karaxanovna Xasatova (52), one of the accused, in Colaba in south Mumbai. According to officials, Xasatova worked as a general manager at the Torres store.

Police also recovered over a thousand ‘precious stones’. “While the company charged its investors thousands of rupees for these stones, their actual value was around ₹300 apiece,” he said.

The investigators are also reportedly probing the 14 luxury cars given out as lucky draw prizes to investors. Sources told NDTV these cars aimed at drawing more customers to the Ponzi scheme.