Mumbai Special PMLA Court Denies Bail To Ukrainian Actor In ₹148 Crore Torres Investment Fraud Case

Mumbai, Feb 09: The special PMLA court has denied bail to Ukrainian actor Armen Ataian, held in the Torres investment fraud case, observing that he was in continuous touch with the absconding accused.

Large-scale investment fraud alleged

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had in March last year submitted a chargesheet against eight accused and claimed that around 14,000 investors, who suffered losses totalling Rs 142 crore, had come forward.

Agencies also suspect that Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, which runs Torres, may have duped nearly 1.25 lakh investors of around Rs 1,000 crore by offering 6% weekly returns through investments in moissanite bracelets, an alternative to diamonds.

Accused denies involvement

Ataian was arrested on January 28 last year and sought bail, claiming that he is neither a director, shareholder, employee nor agent of the company in question. The only role assigned to the applicant was on the basis of a general statement that he allegedly assisted the foreign national accused in opening the company, but the investigation is completely silent as to how and when he assisted the main accused.

The applicant contended that he is not the perpetrator of the crime and not the beneficiary of the alleged fraud amount.

Prosecution opposes bail

The prosecution opposed the bail plea, claiming that during the course of the investigation it was revealed that the applicant had introduced accused Tausif Riyaz alias John Carter to the absconding foreign national and helped them in committing the crime.

According to the prosecution, there was a criminal conspiracy among the accused to open various schemes to collect investments from the gullible public by promising high returns.

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Court cites gravity of offence

The court noted: “There are allegations that the applicant had introduced the foreign national accused to Tausif Riyaz alias John Carter and he was in continuous contact with them. In the present crime, there are about 14,964 investors who have suffered a loss of Rs 148.89 crore. There are three other similar crimes registered against the company. Therefore, considering the nature, gravity, seriousness, large magnitude of the offence and the larger interest of society at this stage, it is not just and proper to exercise discretion and grant bail to the applicant/accused. There is every possibility of fleeing and tampering with the prosecution evidence.”

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