The director allegedly duped investors of Rs 13.48 crore; some said they got their returns up till December 30
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The Shivaji Park police have booked the director of Torres, a luxury jewellery brand based in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, for allegedly duping its investors of Rs 13.48 crore under the pretext of promising returns.
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“We have registered an FIR against the director of the company, Ashok Surve, and four others in this matter,” said a police officer.
The matter came to light on January 6, when investors had gathered around the brand’s stores in Dadar and Navi Mumbai’s Sanpada and panicked to see the shops shut without any prior notice. The people then approached the Shivaji Park police station to register an FIR, demanding the return of the principal amount, which they had invested trusting the famous jewellery brand.
According to the investors, the company allegedly looted lakhs of rupees under the pretext of giving weekly returns. Speaking to mid-day, some said that they had got their returns up till December 30 but nothing for the January week.
“We had gathered here as there is a lot of uncertainty over getting the money back. There is miscommunication between the investors and the company. I received the money last week, but then this week the store is shut, and we don’t know when we will get the money back,” said Pradip Devilya, an investor.
“I had invested around Rs 1 lakh. They (brand owners) had told us that we would receive 10-11% returns in a span of 52 weeks. Lured by the offer, I had invested money on January 5, and today I found out that the store is closed and the people from the company are not receiving the calls. We just want the principal money back,” said Mutuza Jarora, an investor who works in a private company.
“Three to five weeks ago, I got lured into the scam and invested around R1 lakh. I also convinced my family members to invest some money as the jewellery brand had assured us 10-11% returns. Today all we see is uncertainty as the store is shut and there is communication. As a family, we invested around Rs 50 lakh, and now we are panicking whether we will get the money back,” said another investor on condition of anonymity.
The Shivaji Park police said that a case has been registered against a total of five accused persons under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act (MPID), 1999.
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