Torres Jewellery (Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd)

No — this is not a legitimate income opportunity, and it is under active criminal and financial-crime investigation. The Enforcement Directorate opened a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case, conducted searches at 13 locations in Mumbai and Jaipur around 25 January 2025, froze about Rs 21.75 crore in assets, seized incriminating documents and digital evidence, flagged roughly Rs 13.78 crore in suspicious transactions and noted alleged hawala links [web: newsonair.gov.in][web: freepressjournal.in]. Business Standard corroborates the freezing of assets of about Rs 21 crore [web: business-standard.com]. Separately, Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing is running a criminal investigation with more than 3,700 complainants, an official fraud figure cited above Rs 57 crore (wider media and court estimates run much higher), and multiple arrests [web: indiatvnews.com][web: oneindia.com].

Reported arrests include CEO Tausif/Taufiq Riyaz (alias 'John Carter'), taken into custody on 28 January 2025 in Lonavla after allegedly absconding under a Look Out Circular, as well as director Sarvesh Surve and associates named as Uzbek national Tazagul Xasatova (alias Tania) and Russian national Valentina Ganesh Kumar; several foreign nationals, including Viktoriia Kovalenko and Olena Stoian, are reported to have left India [web: indiatvnews.com]. Names and nationalities vary across outlets and remain allegations; all named individuals are accused or under investigation, not convicted.

One notable correction for fairness: the chartered accountant Abhishek Gupta, who audited Torres, was treated by the EOW as a whistleblower/witness while the ED named him an accused under PMLA and the Bombay High Court directed police protection for him [web: freepressjournal.in][web: caalley.com]. A special PMLA court has since dropped the charges against Gupta, finding no material tying him to proceeds of crime, so he should not be characterised as a standing accused [web: freepressjournal.in]. Note that the company's registry status may still show as 'Active' — that reflects an unupdated corporate filing, not the operational or legal reality [web: tofler.in].

Torres is a jewellery-store brand that operated in and around Mumbai, run by Platinum Hern Private Limited — a company incorporated on 7 April 2023 (CIN U32119MH2023PTC400312) and registered at Popular Arcade, Tata Road, Opera House/Girgaon, Mumbai 400004 [web: tofler.in]. Corporate registry data lists Sarvesh Ashok Surve (DIN 10105534) and Viktoriia Kovalenko (DIN 10511587) as directors, with authorised capital of Rs 1 crore and paid-up capital of Rs 1 lakh [web: tofler.in]. Torres opened showrooms rapidly from around early 2024 and promoted itself heavily through its outlets, its website (thetorres.co.in) and word-of-mouth referral.

What set Torres apart from an ordinary jeweller was its pitch: customers were encouraged not merely to buy jewellery but to 'invest' in gold, silver and synthetic moissanite pieces in exchange for promised weekly returns and referral rewards. That model unravelled at the turn of 2025, and Torres is now one of the most widely reported alleged Ponzi/MLM cases in recent Indian media, drawing action from both the Enforcement Directorate and Mumbai Police [web: newsonair.gov.in][web: indiatvnews.com].

Entry required purchasing a Torres jewellery or moissanite 'investment' package at the company's inflated prices; the money at stake was the purchase amount itself rather than a separate membership fee. A specific minimum ticket size is not publicly documented in the sources reviewed. Given the collapse, criminal investigations and frozen assets, any funds placed with Torres should be regarded as at severe risk of total loss [web: freepressjournal.in][web: oneindia.com].