Mumbai: Mohammad Tausif Riyaz, arrested in the Torres fraud case, has moved a special court for bail, claiming he was a whistle-blower. He alleged that the police had known about the fraud since June last year but failed to act. Riyaz was arrested on January 25 by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for his alleged role in the scam.
In his bail plea, Riyaz claimed that before the scam was reported, he had alerted authorities about the ongoing fraud. He said some Ukrainian nationals had approached him to help set up a jewellery business in India and asked for assistance in arranging facilities. Riyaz stated he worked as a consultant at the store.
On January 4, he emailed multiple authorities, including Mumbai Police, Thane Police, Navi Mumbai Police, SEBI, and RBI, raising concerns about Torres. He claimed to have provided evidence showing that Rs200 crore in illegal cash was collected, converted into cryptocurrency, and sent abroad.
He further alleged that authorities had issued multiple notices to Torres in June, October, and November, indicating that already had knowledge about the wrongdoing. Over 10,000 investors have now approached the police, accusing Torres of cheating them out of Rs 117.63 crore.
Riyaz is among those arrested in the case registered at Shivaji Park police station, based on a complaint by a 31-year-old vegetable vendor. The complainant alleged that he and his family invested Rs 4.55 crore, while 37 others he knew invested Rs 8.93 crore. The company had promised 6% returns after purchasing a Moissanite bracelet from their store. It is alleged that the accused initially paid investors to gain their trust but later defaulted, creating an uproar amongst the investors.
