Five people have been arrested by Indian authorities in relation to the Torres MLM Ponzi scam.
Torres was an MLM cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme with a jewelry motif that targeted Indians. In the run-up to Christmas 2024, the fraud seemed to have fallen apart.
False jewelry shops connected to Ukrainian con artists were established in India as part of Torres’ Ponzi scheme.
The first Cancri Jewelry Ponzi fell apart just before Christmas in late 2022. An effort was made to relaunch Cancri Jewelry in early 2023, when we last checked in.
Evidently soon after Canrci’s attempted reactivation failed, Torres started in April 2023.
It turns out that Torres is being run by the same con artists that are behind Cancri Jewelry. They also operated another clone that was directed at Ukraine, B2B Jewelry.
Although I’m not positive, I’d venture to say that Cancri Jewelry drew in a sizable number of Indian investors. The scammers decided it was worthwhile to launch under a different brand in order to target India especially after Cancri Jewelry’s relaunch failed.
After Torres fell, Indian national CEO Tausif Reyaz (right) turned whistleblower in an effort to rescue himself.
as stated on January 10th by Mid-Day;
[Reyaz] claims that as soon as he learned of the ongoing scam, he informed the relevant agencies on January 4 and promptly submitted comprehensive documentation and proof.
An 182-page whistleblower report that surfaced after Shivaji Park police arrested three persons claimed that the fraud was masterminded by the same individuals who were responsible for the 2019 B2B jewelry scam between Ukraine and Russia.
Under the pretense of a jewelry company, [Reyaz] claimed that Torres runs a Ponzi scheme that involves financial irregularities such tax avoidance, extravagant cash expenditures, and possible money laundering in the Torres scam.
He said the plan is similar to the fraudulent activities of Cancri Jewellery (Turkey) and B2B Jewellery (Ukraine), which are both operated by the same people.
Reyaz seems like a typical Boris CEO to me. Scammers from Russia and Ukraine frequently pose as CEOs using actors with made-up identities. It appears that Reyaz was foolish enough to use his given name.
Indian officials had detained the following as of January 10, 2025:
Ukrainian citizens Victoria Kovalenko and Olena Stoian were listed as important Torres insiders and sought suspects.
Indian police obtained Interpol blue corner notices on one Turkish individual and eight Ukrainian nationals on January 21.
as stated on January 22nd by Indian Express;
The director of Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, which is owned by Torres, Victoria Kovalenko, Mustafa Karakoc, Oleksandr Borovyk, Oleksandr Zapichenko, Oleksandra Brunkivska, Oleksandra Tredokhib, Artem Oliferchuk, and Iurchenko Igor, Olena Stoian, has been the subject of a blue corner notice from the police.
According to an EOW officer, Mustafa Karakoc is Turkish, while the others are Ukrainian.
Alpesh Khara was also taken into custody by Indian officials between January 10 and January 21. Khara is connected to the laundering of around $23 million USD (Rs. 2 billion) in tether (USDT) out of India.
Indian officials declared on January 27th that CEO Tausif Reyaz had been taken into custody.
The estimated total losses of Torres, which were taken from over 125,000 investors, amount to Rs. 10 billion (about $115 million USD).
The remaining Ukrainian con artists responsible for the Torres fraud are still at loose, with the exception of the two insiders who were detained in India.
