Mumbai: A massive investment scam by the foreign-based Torres Jewelry company has left over 1.25 lakh investors defrauded of ₹1,000 crore. The company, which promised high returns on jewelry and diamond investments, has collapsed, with its directors shifting the blame to Indian executives. The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) has taken over the investigation, and an FIR under the Maharashtra Protection of Depositors Act and various BNS sections has been registered.

Three individuals—Sarvesh Ashok Surve, Tanya Casatova, and Valentina Kumar—have been arrested, while the alleged masterminds, Ukrainian nationals John Carter and Victoria Kowalenko, fled the country. Lookout Circulars (LOCs) have been issued for their arrest. Torres Company launched operations in Mumbai in February 2024, opening a flagship showroom in Dadar and branches in Navi Mumbai, Kalyan, Borivali, and Mira Road. The company offered an alluring investment plan.

Investors purchased jewelry or moissanite diamonds and received official receipts. A digital account and unique customer ID were created for each investor. A weekly return of 6% was promised, amounting to triple the investment value over 52 weeks.

Sarvesh Surve, a local resident with no prior business credentials, was appointed as the director to provide a local face to the foreign venture. Surve’s digital signatures were used for all official documents, while John Carter and Victoria Kowalenko controlled operations from the shadows. Tanya Casatova, an Uzbek national, managed stores, and Valentina Kumar, a Russian citizen married to an Indian, oversaw retail operations.

Police sources revealed that Surve was unaware of the larger conspiracy, making him a convenient scapegoat. Before fulfilling the promised 52-week term, Torres stopped payments in December 2024, citing technical issues. On January 1, 2025, the company abruptly shut down its showrooms.

When irate investors gathered outside the Dadar office on January 6, Tanya and Valentina were confronted and detained by Shivaji Park police. Surve was also arrested. Preliminary investigations estimate that over 1.25 lakh investors were defrauded, based on the highest customer ID numbers issued. The total fraud amount could exceed ₹1,000 crore. Police stations in Shivaji Park, APMC (Navi Mumbai), and Mira Road witnessed long queues of investors filing complaints, with many FIRs registered in just two days.

Authorities are now coordinating with international agencies to apprehend Carter and Kowalenko. Meanwhile, the EOW has urged investors to file complaints to strengthen the case.

Ahmedabad, Jan 7: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport, managed by Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), on Tuesday reported double-digit growth in the number of passengers during the third quarter (Q3) FY25.

Over 3.5 million passengers took flights to and from the airport – over 18 per cent more than the previous year’s number of 3 million (Q3 FY24).

Aircraft traffic movements (ATMs) also saw a rise of 15 per cent with SVPI Airport managing over 27,000 ATMs during the October-December quarter.

On December 22, SVPI Airport saw 44,253 passenger movements with 324 ATMs, which is the highest for the current financial year, followed by December 13 and December 12, where the airport served 43,881 with 318 ATMS and 43,408 passengers with 325 ATMs, respectively, according to SVPI Airport, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd.

Ahmedabad airport saw infrastructure, innovation, and destination additions including the Terminal-2 extended check-in hall, inter-terminal electric shuttle service, Wi-Fi coupon dispensers for travellers with non-Indian SIM cards, new flights to Da Nang, Guwahati, Dimapur Thiruvananthapuram, Kolhapur, and Kuwait, and additional frequencies to Kochi and Kolkata.

In December, Ahmedabad Airport was the only airport in India recognised for its exceptional commitment to energy conservation by winning a prestigious Certificate of Merit at the National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) 2024, organised by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, according to the company.

It further stated that with several international airlines now managing, cargo numbers saw a significant growth of 17 per cent in Q3 over the same period in the previous financial year.

The SVPI Airport handled over 17,900 million tonnes (MT) of cargo, including over 1,850 MT of international cargo, which has seen a rise of over 300 per cent over the financial year’s Q3 numbers.

Leveraging Adani Group’s expertise in transport and logistics hubs, AAHL aims to connect India’s major cities through a strategic hub-and-spoke model.

This, coupled with a deep understanding of modern mobility needs, fuels AIAL’s vision to establish Ahmedabad Airport as the premier gateway for passenger and cargo traffic in western India.

New Delhi, Jan 4 The growth rate of the agriculture sector and allied sectors is expected to be between 3.5 per cent and 4 per cent in 2025, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Saturday.

In a review meeting of various schemes with the state/UT ministers in the national capital, Chouhan said that in the New Year with new resolutions, “we will take forward the work of agricultural development and farmer welfare at a fast pace”.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said from the Red Fort last year that I will work with three times the strength in the third term. We should also resolve that we will work with our full potential,” the Union Minister said during the meeting. “Under the leadership of PM Modi, we have a six-point strategy for farmer welfare and development in the agriculture sector,” he added.

The Agriculture Ministry is working in several directions like micro-irrigation schemes, mechanisation, use of technology and new agricultural methods. “We are working on reducing the cost of production to increase income rapidly,” he said.

As part of the ‘PM Kisan Samman Nidhi’ scheme, Rs 3.46 lakh crore has been distributed to 11 crore farmers in 18 instalments to date.

“More than 25 lakh eligible farmers were added in the first 100 days of PM Modi’s third term. The number of people taking benefit of the 18th instalment increased to 9.58 crore,” Chouhan said.

The ‘PM Crop Insurance Scheme’ is the world’s largest crop insurance scheme.

“In this, loanee applications are 876 lakh and non-loanee applications are 552 lakh. A total of 14.28 crore farmers have applied, 602 lakh hectare area is insured, and the gross insured amount is Rs 2,73,049 crore,” the Agriculture Minister said.

Four crore farmers have benefited from the scheme. Since the inception of the scheme, Rs 17,000 crore has been given to farmers in the form of claims, he added.

The Union Cabinet on January 1 decided that the provision of Rs 66,000 crore in the crop insurance scheme has been increased to more than Rs 69,000 crore.

“Fertiliser subsidy like DAP will now be available at the price of Rs 1,350 per 50 kg bag and a provision of Rs 3,800 crore has been made for this,” said the minister.

Chouhan said it is also necessary to pay attention to the legalisation of crops and states are also making better efforts in this direction.