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NEW DELHI:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at 10-12 locations in Mumbai and Jaipur, on Thursday, as part of its investigation into the Torres investment scam, which has defrauded numerous investors.
The federal agency had earlier filed a criminal complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of an FIR registered by the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to initiate an investigation.
So far, more than 3,700 investors have filed complaints with Mumbai police, claiming to have been cheated. The total fraud amount has exceeded Rs 57 crore, according to officials.
The Torres brand, owned by a jewellery company, is accused of defrauding investors through a combination of Ponzi and multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes.
The scam came to light when hundreds of investors gathered at the Torres Vastu Centre building in Dadar (West) earlier this month after the company stopped fulfilling promised payouts.
The police have already arrested three accused—Tazagul Xasatov, a national from Uzbekistan, Valentina Ganesh Kumar, a Russian national, and Sarvesh Surve—senior executives of the firm, in connection with the case.
Investigators have revealed that the promoters of the Torres jewellery brand lured investors with promises of cars, flats, gift cards, and hampers.
The Bombay high court, on Wednesday, remarked that police officials had shown dereliction of duty by failing to act promptly in the Torres investment scam. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale observed, “Nobody has acted with alacrity.”
Both the police and the ED are now focused on identifying the mastermind behind the fraud—the individual who founded the jewellery company, Platinum Hern, which owns the Torres brand, and from whom the accused initially obtained funds.
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