Torres ponzi scheme: Nearly 13,000 victims may receive Rs 40 crore as Mumbai police begins auction on firm’s seized properties

The Moissanite stones were shown as real diamonds to lure investors and they were presented as real diamonds on Torres’s website. But in reality, they were mere American diamonds (having minimal value) bought from Jaipur markets, said an EOW officer.

After court gives permission, the properties would be auctioned. EOW has also written to the collector to appoint a competent authority which would look after the auctioning and refund the money to the investors with due permission from the court. EOW will assist the competent authority.

Once the seized properties are auctioned, money will be deposited in EOW’s account and then the competent authority will put up a proposal before the court regarding formula for disbursement of money to the investors. Once the court approves the proposal, the investors would be credited money into their bank accounts. Those investors will be preferred in refund procedures, who have less amount investment. But the entire procedure will take at least six months, the EOW officer said. The investors will only get the principal amount invested and not the interest promised under the Torres scheme, the officer added.

So far, the EOW officials have seized cash and properties worth nearly Rs 35 crore including cash and money in bank accounts of Torres, which was run by Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd.

The Torres case

On January 6, thousands of investors from Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Mira Road staged protests outside Torres’ jewellery stores in Dadar, Mira Road, and APMC Navi Mumbai after they suddenly stopped receiving their promised interest payments in various investment schemes in late December, 2024.

Demanding a return of their investments, the investors threatened to break open the safes of the company. Soon, the police stepped in and eventually the same day, Shivaji Nagar police registered an FIR citing a fraud amount of Rs 13.48 crore from 66 different investors.

Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) soon took over the investigation. Since then, there have been arrests, Blue Corner Notices, searches and seizures, even as many more investors continue to seek answers.

Over a month after the complaints began pouring in, the Mumbai Police now claim that there are over 12,783 investors who have come forward reporting frauds worth Rs 130 crore and the suspected Ponzi scheme was being run by the accused company, Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, which runs the Torres jewellery brand.

The brand had showrooms in six locations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including Dadar, Grant Road.

Investors were lured with iPhones, jewellery

The company, incorporated in April 2023, allegedly floated multiple schemes encouraging them to buy jewellery, mainly moissanite stones or American diamonds and offered exorbitant weekly interest rates, with some yielding an annual return of up to 500 per cent.

Initially, investors were lured with incentives such as iPhones, jewellery and other expensive gifts, including branded bags, cars, and apartments. However, the company suddenly stopped paying in December 2024, causing alarm among investors.

Many investors were seen crying outside the police station as they broke fixed deposits, took out high-interest loans, and even mortgaged jewellery and homes to invest in these lucrative but ultimately fraudulent schemes. Besides Shivaji Park police station, the FIRs were registered by Navghar police in Mira Bhayander, Rabodi police in Thane, and APMC police in Navi Mumbai.

So far, six persons have been arrested in the case including three foreigners. Eight Ukrainians and a Turkish national are wanted in the case.

The Mumbai police recently managed to get an Interpol Blue Corner notice issued against them.

The Ukrainian masterminds of the Torres fraud are suspected to have sent Rs 200 crore abroad, as claimed in the emails sent by alleged whistleblowers to the police and other law enforcement agencies before the matter became public.

EOW officers also said the investigation of the case is ongoing and as new properties of the accused surface in the investigation they will be seized and auctioned too to refund money to the investors.