Torres scam: CEO says he blew the lid off the fraud and even alerted the police

Tausif Reyaz a wanted accused in the Rs 1000crore alleged Torres scam and former CEO of the company claims to be a whistleblower He asserts he alerted the agencies concerned on January 4 submitting detailed documents and evidence exposing the ongoing fraud as soon as he discovered itFollowing the arrest of three individuals by the Shivaji Park police an 182page whistleblower report surfaced alleging that the fraud was orchestrated by the same people behind the 2019 Ukraine and Russia B2B jewellery scam The case has now been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing EOW of the Mumbai police for further investigationValentina Ganesh Kumari and Taniya Xasatova alias Tazagul Khasatova were arrested by the police on Tuesday PicsAshish RajeThe EOW has reportedly taken note of the documents Reyaz claims to have shared with multiple agencies The police are estimating the scam to be worth R1000 crore based on the number of investorsThreat to lifeReyaz in documents shared with agencies claimed his life is under threat due to his efforts to expose the case In a letter sent to the authorities he alleged that Torres operates a Ponzi scheme under the guise of a jewellery business involving financial irregularities such as tax evasion excessive cash expenditures and potential money laundering in Torres scam He stated that the scheme mirrors the fraudulent practices of B2B Jewellery Ukraine and Cancri Jewellery Turkey run by the same individuals Reyaz has urged immediate intervention by tax financial and law enforcement authorities to protect customers and prevent further economic harmSarvesh Surve the company director arrested by the copsAccording to Reyazrsquos purported letter currently under examination by agencies and shared with midday by his legal team who have chosen to remain anonymous he detailed the scamrsquos operations Reyaz also provided a letter written by Sarvesh Surve a director of the company and one of the accused arrested by the Shivaji Park police Reyaz claimed that Surve also flagged the fraud to relevant agencies and sent a letter to the prime minister highlighting the schemeReyazrsquos letter alleges ldquoTorres operating under Platinum Hern Private Limited exhibits all the characteristics of a Ponzi and pyramid scheme disguised as a jewellery business With unsustainable cashback rates inflated product prices and referral commissions the business is financially untenablerdquoForeigners used fake IDsReyaz further claimed that foreign nationals associated with Torres acquired Indian mobile numbers using fake IDs These SIM cards were reportedly procured through brokers for Rs 12500 each and sourced from the Nepal border to evade detectionThe letter to the PMO by Surve which Reyaz attached to his own submissions stated that the company was incorporated in India on April 7 2023 Surve a director since the companyrsquos inception claimed that a Ukrainian national Olena Stoian was also appointed as a director Surve wrote ldquoI was informed that the company would operate in the retail jewellery business in India and was assured opportunities to secure a foreign visa and employment Based on these representations I became a director and shareholderrdquoIn the letter dated January 2 Surve explained that the company launched its first jewellery showroom in Mumbairsquos Dadar area under the brand name ldquoTorresrdquo However he claimed that despite holding the position of director he was never involved in showroom operationsPublic money usedAccording to Surversquos complaint the company began accepting money from the public by promising high bonuses cashback and returns ranging from 200 per cent to 600 per cent Customers were given lowquality moissanite stones instead of genuine jewellery He also alleged that the company engaged in fake loan transactions totalling R1376 crore These transactions were reportedly facilitated by Lallan Singh who accepted cash brought into India via USDT TetherSurve further stated that on December 27 he was summoned to the companyrsquos Lower Parel office ldquoDuring this visit I met Ms Tazagul Khasatova and another foreign national Mr Danish who pressured me to sign several documents including management certificates and loan agreements with backdated entries on old stamp papersrdquo he wrote ldquoWhen I refused to sign the agreements I was shouted at threatened with dire consequences and told I would be killed by being hit by a car Ms Tazagul Khasatova was present and involved in these threatsrdquoThe complaint also alleges that the company illegally imported over 75 kg of silver and 25 kg of gold from Turkey to India Surve claimed that the gold was delivered to a juice shop in Kalbadevi and that he possesses photographs of the smuggled gold as evidenceThe accused whistleblower alleged that the Torres scam operated similarly to fraudulent schemes in Ukraine and Turkey The complaint letter included media reports on the B2B Jewellery scam in these countries drawing parallels to Torresrsquo operationsDiscrepancies highlightedThe whistleblower alleged that Torres had established six jewellery showrooms in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai and claimed to have 60000 customers The estimated investment for setting up these showrooms was at least R40 crore However the company reportedly spent over R25 crore in cash raising questions about the source of these funds Platinum Hern Private Limited under which Torres operates has a paidup capital of only R1 lakh with no evidence of external investments or foreign fundingThe prices of products were heavily inflated Moissanite stones which have a market price of R300 were sold for R9000 representing a markup of 3000 times Gold rings typically valued at Rs 39000 were sold for Rs 450000 Customers received lowquality moissanite stones and jewellery at these inflated prices justifying artificially high cashback payoutsThe letter also stated that Torres Jewellery conducted daily conferences at its showrooms attended by at least 300 individuals During these sessions speakers explained how participants could purportedly earn money through the company by following specific processesB2B jewellery scamThe whistleblowerrsquos letter compared Torresrsquos operations to those of B2B Jewellery a company that defrauded over 600000 investors of approximately 250 million across Ukraine Russia and Kazakhstan Established in 2019 B2B Jewellery presented itself as a retailer but operated a massive Ponzi scheme through its network of retail stores and online platformsArrests and investigationThe Shivaji Park police have arrested three individuals including two foreign nationals identified as Valentina Ganesh Kumari 44 a Russian origin OCI national and Taniya Xasatova alias Tazagul Khasatova an Uzbekistan national who was working as general manager The case has since been transferred to the Economic Offences Wing EOW A senior EOW officer stated We have received the files and further investigations are underway We are also examining the details shared by the whistleblower in the caseOne Victoria Kovalenko a Ukrainian national has also been named in the FIR and is suspected to have fled the country She is believed to be a key member of the fraud The whistleblower has additionally named Olena Stoian also a Ukrainian national claiming she is the mastermind behind the fraud Stoian was allegedly involved in the Ukraine B2B jewellery scam as well