Mumbai, Jan 20 (PTI) A special court in Mumbai has granted permission to a Ukrainian woman, arrested in a money laundering case linked to multi-crore Torres investment fraud, to use an English-to-Russian translation dictionary while in judicial custody.
The accused, Tazagul Xasatov, claimed that she does not know English and requires the dictionary for both recreation and better understanding of charges levelled against her in the scam which came to light in early 2025.
Special PMLA court judge R B Rote earlier this month granted her plea to use an English-to-Russian translation dictionary, emphasizing the accused had a right to have knowledge of allegations made against her.
During hearing, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed her plea, arguing she has resided in India for a substantial period of time and is familiar with both Hindi and English.
Providing a dictionary could potentially assist other accused individuals or cause “disturbance in the investigation”, submitted the central agency, which is probing the money laundering case.
Judge Rote, however, held that “no prejudice would be caused” by providing the wordbook and that there was no record of evidence to justify denying the request.
The court then directed jail authorities to permit Xasatov to use the requested English-to-Russian dictionary/book.
Platinum Hern Pvt Ltd, that operated under the brand name Torres Jewellery, is alleged to have cheated its customers after collecting a “huge” amount of cash from them 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 police.
The ED case stems from a police FIR filed in Navi Mumbai. PTI AVI RSY
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