Thane: Search for two accused of swindling Rs 8.9 lakh from finance company

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Police have launched a search operation for two former employees of a finance company in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly swindling Rs 8.9 lakh of the firm when they worked there, an official said on Monday, PTI reported.

As per PTI, between November 2023 and February 2024, the accused reportedly collected payments from customers for investment purposes but did not deposit the same in the company's account, the official from Bhiwandi Town police station said.

When asked to give back the money to the company, the two individuals fled, he said.

As per the complaint by an official of the company, the police on Saturday filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the two former employees on charges of criminal breach of trust and other offences, the official said, PTI reported.

Efforts are underway to catch the two accused, the police said.

The foreigners behind Torres scam

Self-proclaimed whistleblower Tausif Reyaz, a wanted accused in the Torres scam where thousands of investors were defrauded, has shared details about the 10 alleged masterminds behind the scam, among whom are foreign nationals from Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey.

Following Reyaz's revelations, the police arrested two foreign nationals, one of whom was identified as Valentina Kumari, a Russian citizen with Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) status. She has been living in India for the past 17 years after marrying an Indian.

Sources within the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) have confirmed that several foreign nationals named in Reyaz's letter have fled the country and are suspected to be the primary architects of the fraud. However, Reyaz himself has not appeared before the agency so far and was last reportedly seen in Delhi. He has claimed that his life is under threat.

In his letter, Reyaz provided details such as passport numbers and photographs of some of the accused. "We have received certain information from the FRRO [Foreigners Registration Office] of the Mumbai police and are currently verifying the details," an EOW officer stated.

According to a letter sent by Reyaz to the authorities on January 4, he identified Olena Stoian and Oleksandra Brunkivska as the masterminds of the scam. Reyaz alleged that the two were also involved in similar scams in Turkey and Ukraine. He claimed that Brunkivska, who operated under the alias "Alia" in India, had remained in the country until the first week of January. Officials suspect that both have since fled India.

(With PTI inputs)