Indian authorities have made five arrests in connection to the Torres MLM Ponzi scheme.

Torres was a jewelry themed MLM crypto Ponzi targeting Indians. The scam appears to have collapsed in the lead up to Christmas 2024.

Torres’ Ponzi ruse was sham jewelry stores set up in India tied to Ukrainian scammers.

If you haven’t heard of Torres before you’re not alone, I hadn’t either. But the business model immediately reminded me of
Cancri Jewelry
, an MLM Ponzi BehindMLM reviewed in 2022.

The original Cancri Jewelry Ponzi collapsed in late 2022 just before Christmas. Last we checked in, there was an
attempted Cancri Jewelry reboot
in early 2023.

Torres launched in April 2023, evidently shortly after Canrci’s attempted reboot failed.

Turns out the same scammers behind Cancri Jewelry are behind Torres. They also ran B2B Jewelry, another clone that targeted Ukraine.

I can’t confirm but if I had to guess, Cancri Jewelry attracted a large enough Indian investor base. When Cancri Jewelry’s reboot collapsed, the scammers figured it was worth launching under a different name to target India specifically.

In an attempt to save himself CEO Tausif Reyaz (right), an Indian national, turned whistleblower after Torres collapsed.

As
reported by Mid-Day on January 10th
;

[Reyaz] asserts he alerted the agencies concerned on January 4, submitting detailed documents and evidence exposing the ongoing fraud as soon as he discovered it.

Following the arrest of three individuals by the Shivaji Park police, an 182-page whistleblower report surfaced, alleging that the fraud was orchestrated by the same people behind the 2019 Ukraine and Russia B2B jewellery scam.

[Reyaz] alleged that Torres operates a Ponzi scheme under the guise of a jewellery business, involving financial irregularities such as tax evasion, excessive cash expenditures, and potential money laundering in Torres scam.

He stated that the scheme mirrors the fraudulent practices of B2B Jewellery (Ukraine) and Cancri Jewellery (Turkey), run by the same individuals.

As far as I can tell Reyaz is a typical Boris CEO. Russian and Ukrainian scammers typically use actors with fictional names to play executives. Reyaz seems stupid enough to have used his real name.

As of January 10th, 2025, Indian authorities had arrested:

Valentina Ganesh Kumari, a Russian national

Taniya Xasatova (aka Tazagul Khasatova), an Uzbekistan national and

Ashok Surve, an indian national

Olena Stoian and Victoria Kovalenko, Ukrainian nationals, were cited as wanted suspects and key Torres insiders.

On January 21st Indian authorities secured Interpol blue corner notices on eight Ukrainian nationals and one Turkish national.

As
reported by Indian Express on January 22nd
;

Police have issued blue corner notice against suspected mastermind Olena Stoian, director of Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd that runs Torres, Victoria Kovalenko, Mustafa Karakoc, Oleksandr Borovyk, Oleksandr Zapichenko, Oleksandra Brunkivska, Oleksandra Tredok

🤖 Quick Answer

What is the Torres Ponzi scheme?
Torres was a jewelry-themed MLM cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that primarily targeted Indian investors. It operated through sham jewelry stores established across India and was linked to Ukrainian scammers. The scheme launched in April 2023 and appears to have collapsed in late December 2024, prompting law enforcement intervention by Indian authorities.

How many arrests were made in the Torres Ponzi scheme case?
Indian authorities arrested five individuals in connection with the Torres MLM Ponzi scheme. The arrests followed the scheme's collapse in the period leading up to Christmas 2024. The enforcement action reflected Indian law enforcement efforts to address fraudulent multi-level marketing and cryptocurrency investment operations targeting domestic consumers.

What is the connection between Torres and Cancri Jewelry?
Torres is believed to have been operated by the same scammers behind Cancri Jewelry, a previously identified MLM

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