Mumbai, March 23 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated the extradition process against Ukrainian national Olena Stoian, a prime accused in the multi-crore Torres fraud case, on Monday by approaching the special PMLA court for the compilation and attestation of required documents to prepare a dossier.
These documents will be sent to authorities in the Republic of Moldova, where Stoian has reportedly been located, for her extradition. The court, considering the plea of the investigating agency, handed over the extradition documents to the ED.
Earlier, the special court had issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against four accused, including three absconding Ukrainian nationals, with Stoian being one of them, for their alleged role in the case.
"The accused are involved in a serious non-bailable offense of money laundering and are evading arrest. Therefore, in the interest of proper and effective investigation and trial into the serious economic offense, it is necessary to issue a non-bailable warrant," the judge said in an order passed in November last year.
Platinum Hern Private Limited, which operated under the brand name Torres Jewellery, is alleged to have cheated customers after collecting cash in lieu of the sale of Moissanite diamonds and other jewellery.
Instead of using the said cash for its legitimate business purposes, it was routed through hawala operators and later, converted into USDT cryptocurrency, according to the ED.
The ED case stems from a police FIR filed in Navi Mumbai. According to the federal probe agency, the proceeds of crime in the case amount to Rs 177.11 crore.
