ED attaches Rs 34 crore assets in Ranya Rao gold smuggling case
The Enforcement Directorate has attached immovable properties worth Rs 34 crore in a case involving transnational gold smuggling and laundering of its proceeds by Kannada actor Harshavardini Ranya, alias Ranya Rao, and her associates.
The action has been taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The attached assets include a house in Victoria Layout, Bengaluru; a residential plot in Arkavathi Layout, Bengaluru; industrial land in Tumkur; and agricultural land in Anekal Taluk, with a combined value of Rs 34.12 crore.
The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered on March 7 by the CBI, following a complaint by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). The FIR pertained to the arrest of an Omani and a UAE citizen at Mumbai airport with 21.28 kg of smuggled gold, valued at Rs 18.92 crore.
On March 3, the DRI had intercepted Ranya at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru with 14.213 kg of 24-carat gold, valued at Rs 12.56 crore. A search of her residence had resulted in the recovery of Rs 2.67 crore unaccounted cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore.
The ED investigation revealed that Rao, in collusion with Tarun Konduru Raju and others, allegedly orchestrated a well-structured operation for smuggling gold into India, agency sources said.
The gold was procured from suppliers in Dubai, Uganda and other nations, and payments were made through hawala channels in cash, thereby circumventing legal financial systems.
False customs declarations were allegedly filed in Dubai, fraudulently declaring the destination of gold shipments as Switzerland or the US, while it was actually smuggled to India. Dual sets of travel documents were used, i.e. one for the declared export destination and the other for their actual arrival in India, to evade scrutiny and facilitate smuggling through Indian airports.
The ED investigation revealed that the smuggled gold was then sold within India in cash to jewellers and other local entities, and the proceeds were subsequently laundered through further hawala remittances abroad to finance repeat consignments for smuggling more gold into India.
Evidence retrieved from the seized mobile phones and forensic extraction of digital devices revealed detailed coordination with foreign gold suppliers, hawala operators and Dubai-based customs agents.
Ranya’s involvement in generating, possessing and circulating proceeds of crime was further corroborated by her digital footprint, which included invoices, export declarations, foreign remittance records and recorded chats establishing her active role in the smuggling syndicate, the probe revealed.
In her statement, the actor had denied knowledge of the seized gold and other assets. However, her claims were contradicted by seized physical evidence, including customs documents bearing her name, travel and purchase records and digital conversations.
Despite the seizure of 14.2 kg of smuggled gold and associated assets by the DRI, the total proceeds of crime identified during the ED’s investigation have been quantified at Rs 55.62 crore. This includes approximately Rs 38.32 crore identified through analysis of the evidence gathered during the course of investigation by the ED.
It has also emerged during investigation that Ranya was assisted at the airport upon her arrival in India, and the possible involvement of public servants in facilitating her illicit activities is under scrutiny.
India