Mumbai: Court approves sale of jewellery seized in Torres Ponzi scam
A SPECIAL court has permitted the sale of jewellery—including gold, silver and moissanite stones—that were seized by the Mumbai Police during its probe into the Torres ponzi scheme case.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had approached court, seeking permission to sell the seized valuables and deposit them in a bank account created for recovery of the losses incurred by the investors. Over Rs 35 crore—including cash, furniture, properties—were seized by the EOW in the case.
'Valuation report be called of both the metals and moissanite stones and they be sold as per value stated in the report and the proceeds be deposited in the newly created bank account,' the special court said in its order last month.
The court also directed that procedure be followed showing the sequence of the sale of the valuable property. It directed the Joint Commissioner of Police, EOW, to oversee the sale. It also said that video-recording of the proceedings be done and added to the chargesheet.
In March, the EOW had filed a chargesheet into the Rs 142 crore 'scam', where over 14,000 investors were allegedly duped by Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd. The scam was masterminded by Ukrainian nationals, who promised investors weekly returns from six to 20 per cent for 52 weeks, based on their investments in silver, gold jewellery and moissanite stones from showrooms set up by the company named Torres.
The EOW had initially sought permission for the auctioning of other seized properties, including furniture, at the six Torres stores. A bank account has been opened by the police to facilitate the process, additional public prosecutor J N Suryavanshi informed the court.
The court directed that the money from the sale of the jewellery be deposited in the account as per procedure.
The EOW has also invoked sections of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act in the case, which empowers the police to identify, auction and refund money to investors after following due procedure and taking permission from court.
In March, the police had filed a chargesheet against eight arrested persons, while naming many others, including Ukrainian nationals, as absconding accused. The investors were lured into spending at the Torres showroom, by offers like a weekly lucky draw.
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