Mumbai, Jan 13 (PTI) A special court in Mumbai on Monday extended till January 18 the police custody of three accused held in connection with the Torres investment fraud with the prosecution claiming the scam, now pegged at Rs 38 crore, was serious and caused loss to the Indian economy.

The Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), the probe agency, said 11 accused wanted for the fraud, involving ponzi schemes operated by a private firm owning 'Torres' jewellery brand, are absconding and Look Out Circulars (LOCs) have been issued against them. The accused include foreign nationals.

The three arrested accused -- Tazagul Xasatov, a Uzbekistan national, Valentina Ganesh Kumar, a Russian national and Sarvesh Surve -- all senior executives of the firm -- were produced before a special court designated to hear cases under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act.

Surve (30), a resident Umerkhandi in South Mumbai, Xasatova (52) and Kumar (44) held senior positions in the company, Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, which is at the centre of the scam. Surve was a director at Platinum Hern, while Xasatova served as general manager and Kumar as store in-charge in the company, a police official said after their arrest last week.

They were arrested on Tuesday (January 7) and sent to police custody till January 13 by the court.

The police, while seeking the accused's further remand, said at present the magnitude of the scam has reached Rs 38 crore and the amount is expected to rise further as investigations move forward.

As per the police, 1,916 investors have complained about being cheated so far and a sum of Rs 17 crore has been recovered from the accused persons.

"The offence is a serious crime and has caused loss to the Indian economy. The accused persons have transferred the duped money into accounts in foreign countries through illegal channels," the police told the court.

As of now, 11 more persons, including foreign nationals, are absconding in the case. "Look Out Circulars (LOCs) have been issued against these 11 accused to ensure they do not flee (the country)," the police said.

An LOC is issued by law enforcement agencies to monitor or prevent a person’s movement across borders.

The EOW further said probe needs to be done to ascertain who was the mastermind of the fraud, who started the jewellery company (Platinum Hern) that owns the Torres brand and from where the accused got the initial fund for the firm.

The police alleged in the remand note that the arrested accused have not cooperated with the ongoing probe and hence their further custody was required. Their remand was also required to carry out probe into bank accounts of the company and its financial transactions.

The jewellery company that owns Torres brand is accused of cheating investors of crores of rupees through a combination of ponzi and multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes.

The EOW has carried out raids in Colaba, Dadar and Dombivali and confiscated important documents, investment papers as well as cash as part of its probe into the alleged scam.

The scam came to light when hundreds of investors gathered at the jewellery brand's store situated at Torres Vastu Centre building in Dadar (West) on Monday evening (January 6) after the company stopped paying sums promised to them. PTI SP RSY