Torres Jewellers Fraud: Mumbai Firm Dupes Investors Of Rs 13.48 Cr, Police Books Top Execs Amid Uproar
Mumbai police booked Platinum Hern Private Limited's director Sarvesh Ashok Surve, Victoria Covalenko, CEO Taufiq Riyas alias John Carter, and general manager Tania Cosatova, among others.
In a shocking case of financial fraud, the top executives of a jewellery firm in Mumbai were booked for allegedly defrauding investors of Rs 13.48 crore on the pretense of promising them handsome returns on deposits as part of a Ponzi scheme.
The firm operated under the brand 'Torres' and promised six percent weekly returns on investment in moissanite, a naturally occurring silicon carbide used in jewellery making and other industrial applications. The investors received some money till December 30 following which the company stopped making payments, news agency PTI reported.
The Mumbai police has booked Platinum Hern Private Limited's director Sarvesh Ashok Surve, Victoria Covalenko, CEO Taufiq Riyas alias John Carter, company store in-charge Valentina Kumar, and general manager Tania Cosatova, among others.
What Was The Scheme?
The case was brought to light only after several investors on Monday realised they had been cheated and gathered at Torres Vastu Centre building in Dadar West after getting informed that several branches of the firm in Mumbai and neighbouring areas had shut.
The shops had opened last year in February at six different locations in and around Mumbai. It sold gemstone jewellery and also offered a bonus scheme to its customers who invested Rs 1 lakh. These customers would get a pendant with a moissanite stone worth Rs 10,000. However, they realised the stones were fake.
The customers were also promised six percent interest on their investment, which the firm promised would be paid out over a period of 52 weeks. Later, this interest rate was increased to 11 percent. The customers have claimed that they received payouts for a year, but the payments stopped two months ago.
Torres posted a video on YouTube a week ago in which it stated that it would give 11 percent interest on investments to those who invested money before January 5, after which the rate would decrease. It further encouraged cash payments by offering an extra 0.5 percent interest. This drew massive investments. However, on January 6, the company shut its stores when the investors got to know they were scammed, NDTV reported.
What Investors Said
A majority of the investments were made by people of the lower middle class group, including vegetable sellers and small traders. They were lured by the big returns that were promised by the company. They were able to invest as the amount invested in the fraudulent scheme ranged from a few thousand rupees to crores. A group of seven people have reportedly filed a complaint, claiming that they had invested around Rs 13 crore in the scheme.
An investor who was among the people gathered outside Torres' Dadar office said she won't leave till the company gives her money back. Another investor said that he trusted the scheme as the company's brochure had a GST and CIN number.
"I thought it is so systematic, so the government is aware of this. I request the government, we don't want interest, but give us our money back," the investor told NDTV.
Torres Company Fraud : 44 टक्क्यांचा परतावा देतो सांगत गंडवलं, सर्व कार्यालयं बंद करीत कंपनी पसार#Maharashtra #ABPMajha pic.twitter.com/jFoHR9AB9g
— ABP माझा (@abpmajhatv) January 7, 2025
A 31-year-old vegetable seller from Khar, who lodged a complaint at the Shivaji Park police station, said he had invested money between June and December 2024 after being promised high returns by the firm. However, he said the investors received some money till December 30 only, following which they did not receive any payment, PTI reported.
A case of cheating, breach of trust, and other offences was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act against the firm and its management.
What Torres Claims
Amid all the chaos that has erupted since Monday, Torres has claimed in another YouTube video uploaded on its official account that the CEO led a coup and facilitated the robbery at the jewellery showrooms of the company in Mumbai.
"Under the leadership of two Torres employees, CEO Tausif Reyaz and Chief Analyst Abhishek Gupta, a coup was organised in the team tonight and Torres stores were robbed," said the voiceover of the video, which shows robbery and vandalism at the stores.
The video further added: "Earlier, we learnt that they organised a fraudulent scheme and systematically appropriated the company's money for many months... Realising that punishment was inevitable for them, they decided to involve other employees in their crime."
Torres has said it has handed over all the evidence to the Mumbai police.
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