Armen Ataine, a Ukrainian actor, was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police in connection with a Ponzi scam that defrauded hundreds of investors across the city. The Torres Jewellery outlets, which sold gemstone jewellery, were at the center of the fraudulent scheme that promised high returns on investments.
The scam began in February last year when Torres Jewellery opened six stores in Mumbai and lured customers with an investment scheme offering a pendant with a moissanite stone worth Rs 10,000 for every Rs 1 lakh invested. However, the outlets were shut down earlier this month after collecting crores of rupees from unsuspecting investors.
Ataine, who allegedly helped the Ukrainian masterminds, Artem and Olena Stoin, in orchestrating the scheme, is one of six people arrested so far. The police are still on the lookout for the Stoin couple, who are believed to have masterminded the scam. They are accused of luring people into investing in gemstones, gold, and silver under the pretext of receiving inflated returns.
The investigation continues as authorities work to trace the remaining masterminds and recover the defrauded funds.