Warrants issued against 4 key accused in Torres fraud case

The agency argued that all four were “evading arrest in connection with a serious non-bailable economic offence”

MUMBAI: A special PMLA court in Mumbai has issued non-bailable warrants against four accused, including a Mumbai resident and three Ukrainian nationals, the alleged masterminds behind the Torres Jewellery fraud in which thousands of small investors from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) were defrauded of ₹177 crore. All four accused are absconding and are believed to have fled the country.

Mumbai, India. Jan 07, 2025: Investors gathered in large numbers outside the office of Torres Jewellers in Dadar, Mumbai, demanding the return of their principal amounts after the company failed to pay the promised returns on its investment schemes. The Mumbai police booked the company's directors for committing multi-million fraud. Mumbai, India. Jan 05, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted that the Mumbai resident, Sagar Paresh Mehta, “fled from India on December 28, 2024, and has not cooperated in the investigation or responded to summons”, and that his family told officers he is currently in Dubai.

The agency told the court that the Ukrainian masterminds behind the fraud – Oleksandr Zapichenko aka Alex, Olena Stoian and Viktoria Kovalenko – were also absconding. Their premises were found locked and summons were “affixed to the gate under a panchanama” after they were unreachable.

Investigators allege that the group ran a jewellery investment scheme in MMR, luring retail investors with the promise of unbelievably high returns and high returns on Ponzi-like referrals.

While presented as a gemstone and luxury jewellery business, authorities believe that large volumes of investor money remained outside formal financial channels.

According to the ED’s case before the court, the operation allegedly involved collecting substantial cash, converting it into cryptocurrency, and routing it back as purported legitimate investment. The agency has said several investors approached law-enforcement agencies, when the promised returns stopped and outlets closed abruptly.

In court, the ED described Zapichenko as “a key architect in the laundering operations… involved in providing illicit capital, converting unaccounted cash into cryptocurrency and reintroducing it as legitimate investment”. They alleged he collected “about ₹177 crores” from customers “by luring investors with false promises and diverting funds for unlawful gains”.

The agency claimed Stoian “knowingly assisted in laundering about ₹177 crores” and said Kovalenko, who allegedly held “99.95% shares” in the holding company, Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, exercised “full control over its operations and finances” and “deliberately evaded investigation by absconding”. The agency argued that all four were “evading arrest in connection with a serious non-bailable economic offence”.

Calling it a “serious economic offence, affecting the socio-economic condition of the society”, the court held that securing the accused was necessary for “proper and effective investigation and trial”.