Torres investment scam: ED takes into custody suspected Hawala operator

The central agency had sought his custody for seven days claiming a "direct nexus of the accused with the alleged crime".

A special court on Wednesday remanded suspected Hawala operator Alpesh Khara in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till April 1 in a money-laundering case linked to the multi-crore Torres investment scam.

Khara was in judicial custody following his earlier arrest by the Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW). Special judge for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases A C Daga remanded him in the ED's custody till April 1.

The central agency had sought his custody for seven days claiming a "direct nexus of the accused with the alleged crime". Khara actively participated in collection of cash from the Dadar showroom of Torres and converted it into cryptocurrency, the ED claimed.

The court noted that "prima-facie it appears that the accused was involved in handling and layering of proceeds of crime".

If his custody was not granted, it will hamper the investigation and the probe agency will not be able to trace the money generated in the crime, the court said. Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd which owns Torres brand is accused of cheating around 14,000 investors of a total of Rs 142 crore through a combination of Ponzi and multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes.

The EOW of Mumbai Police has so far arrested seven persons in the case. The ED registered the money-laundering case on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Navi Mumbai (Vashi) Police against the directors and associates of Platinum Hern. Three more FIRs were later filed against them in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane.

The ED told the court that the company accepted an investment of a minimum of Rs 1 lakh, and offered a weekly return of six per cent. For cash investments, it offered an additional weekly return of 2 per cent, with the result that most of investment was made in cash.

The company adopted the system used by the traditional Angadia couriers, it said. Khara's custody was necessary to find out the money trail and its further layering, how it was converted into cryptocurrency and the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime, the ED said.

Advocate Parvez Memon, appearing for the accused, argued that Khara had no direct or indirect involvement in "so-called Torres scam".

He was merely a franchisee of H M Angadia, providing money transfer services to various clients for a nominal commission of Rs 35 per lakh, he submitted. "At no point has he had any interaction with any victim of the alleged scam, nor was he aware that the funds in circulation were linked to any criminal conspiracy or constituted proceeds of crime," he added.

But the court, after going through the material on record, said it was a fit case to grant the custody of the accused to the probe agency.