Ukrainian actor held in Torres investment scam; 6th arrest so far

Mumbai: The Mumbai police on Tuesday arrested Ukrainian actor Armen Ataine in connection with the Torres investment fraud case, officials said. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police made the arrest, they said. "Ataine was apprehended on Tuesday from Malvani, a western suburb, after his role in the case came to light," an official said.

With this, the police have so far arrested six persons in connection with the Torres investment scam, he said. "Ataine was the main link between the Ukrainians and Indians. He introduced Ukraininans to Indians, and also attended the first two important meetings for opening Torres stores in Mumbai," he said. He was instrumental in conducting all the meetings, the police official said. According to the police, Ataine and another Ukrainian national played a key role in conspiring to lure the investors for attractive returns. The Mumbai police on Monday arrested the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tausif Riyaz from Lonavala in Pune district, the official said, adding that search for the remaining accused was underway. Hundreds of investors were duped for crores of rupees after they invested in various schemes of Torres stores.

Four other arrested accused are Sarvesh Ashok Surve (30), a resident of Umerkhandi in south Mumbai; Tania alias Tazagul Karaxanovna Xasatova (52), an Uzbek national; and Valentina Ganesh Kumar (44), a Russian national. Surve, an Aadhaar card operator, was named as a director of Platinum Hern Private Limited Company (that floated the brand Torres Jewellery). Tania served as the company's general manager, while Valentina was the store in-charge. Meanwhile, Xasatova, an Uzbek woman, has sought bail, claiming that she was never connected with the company in any capacity and has been falsely implicated in the case. In her plea, Xasatova said she was wrongly shown as the general manager of the firm by its local manager to shift the blame on her. The jewellery company is accused of defrauding investors of crores of rupees through a combination of Ponzi and multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes. According to the police, Surve, an Aadhaar card operator, was named as a director of Platinum Hern Private Limited Company (that floated the brand Torres Jewellery). It said Xasatova served as the company's general manager. The Uzbek national, in her bail plea filed before a court here, said she has been working in India as an interpreter for various languages, such as Russian, Ukrainian/Uzbek for the foreign nationals who come to India for business purposes. She has been working diligently with no permanent job at any one place or any company, it said. The woman claimed that in 2024, she was called as an interpreter by the accused company on one occasion as their promoters were based in Ukraine and Russia, for which she was paid her fees.

"Thereafter, on and off the applicant used to be called for being an interpreter between foreign and Indian nationals who were working for them," the plea said. It said that Xasatova does not have any relation whatsoever with the company and has neither received any remuneration from it. There is neither any authority letter from the company authorising the applicant to become the general manager or any kind of manager, it said. "She has been wrongly framed and shown as general manager by some local manager, who was actually involved in the scam, but to escape liability has thrown the blame on a foreign national without there being any documentary proof," the plea added. She was never employed there or accepted any cash from any investors whatsoever, it added. The court has asked the prosecution to file its response to the woman's plea by February 1. According to officials, more than 3,700 investors have so far approached the Mumbai police with complaints of being cheated and the fraud amount is over Rs 87 crore.