Mumbai Torres Jewellery Scam: Hawala Operator Arrested for Allegedly Facilitating Multi-Crore Transfers Abroad

Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has made a significant arrest in the multi-crore Torres scam. A hawala operator, identified as Alpesh Khara (54), has been apprehended for allegedly facilitating the transfer of crores of rupees abroad through illegal hawala channels. Khara, a resident of Mumbai's Girgaon area, was taken into custody after extensive interrogation.

Confirming the arrest, EOW DCP Sangram Singh Nishandar stated that the accused initially tried to mislead investigators but was arrested based on concrete evidence. The investigation revealed that Khara had facilitated the transfer of over ₹300 crore abroad on the instructions of two absconding accused, Taufiq Riaz and Alex. The specific details of the transactions, such as the dates and destinations of the funds, are currently under investigation.

The accused was presented before the MPID court, which has remanded him to police custody until January 21 for further questioning.

EOW’s Investigation and Evidence Collection

According to senior EOW officials, Alpesh Khara operated an office in the Girgaon area. For the past three days, he was being interrogated but showed little cooperation, repeatedly claiming ignorance of the allegations. Subsequently, EOW conducted a search of his office, uncovering crucial evidence.

During the search, investigators found several torn documents. Upon analysis, it was revealed that the accused had attempted to destroy evidence linking him to the financial transactions. These documents confirmed Khara's involvement in aiding the absconding accused in transferring money abroad.

EOW suspects that the funds were sent to countries like Dubai and Ukraine via hawala networks. Further investigations are underway to trace the exact destinations.

Growing Number of Complaints and Seized Assets

The scale of the Torres scam continues to grow, with 5,289 complaints filed to date. The total amount defrauded has now reached ₹86 crore.

In connection with the case, EOW has seized assets including ₹6.74 crore in cash from Torres’ offices, ₹15 crore from the company’s bank accounts, and gold and silver worth ₹4.53 lakh.

The investigation is ongoing, with authorities working to trace additional culprits and recover more defrauded funds.