ED attaches assets worth ₹34 crore of Kannada actor Ranya Rao in gold-smuggling case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged on Friday that Kannada actor Ranya Rao “orchestrated” a “well-structured” operation with her associates for smuggling gold into India as it attached her assets worth more than ₹34 crore as part of a money-laundering investigation.

Harshavardini Ranya alias Ranya Rao (32) was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on March 3 after she landed from Dubai. DRI officials recovered 14.2 kg of gold bars worth ₹12.56 crore from her possession.

The ED said in a statement that the “possible” involvement of some public servants in facilitating Rao’s illicit activities is under scrutiny as the actor was “assisted” at the airport upon her arrival in India.

The federal probe agency said a provisional order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach Rao’s house in Victoria Layout and a plot located in Arkavathi Layout in Bengaluru, an industrial land in Tumkur and an agricultural land in Anekal taluk.

These assets have a combined fair market value of ₹34.12 crore, it said.

A PMLA case was filed against Rao and some others after taking cognisance of a March CBI FIR and a DRI complaint about a larger gold-smuggling racket in India.

The CBI FIR also pertained to the interception of two foreign nationals — an Omani and a UAE citizen — at the Mumbai International Airport with 21.28 kg of smuggled foreign-origin gold valued at ₹18.92 crore.

Digital footprints aid investigation

The actor’s “involvement” in generating, possessing and circulating proceeds of crime was further “corroborated” by her digital footprint, including invoices, export declarations, foreign-remittance records and recorded chats, establishing her “active role” in the smuggling syndicate, the ED claimed.

“Ranya Rao, in active collusion with Tarun Konduru Raju and others, orchestrated a well-structured operation for smuggling gold into India.

“Gold was procured from suppliers based in Dubai, Uganda and other jurisdictions, and payments were made through hawala channels in cash, thereby circumventing legal financial systems,” the agency said.

It claimed that false customs declarations were filed in Dubai, fraudulently declaring the destination of gold shipments as Switzerland or the United States, while the actual travel of the gold smugglers was to India.

What the ED found

It was found that dual sets of travel documents were used — 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 said.

The smuggled gold was then sold within India for cash to jewellers and other local entities, and the proceeds were subsequently laundered through “hawala” remittances abroad to finance repeat consignments for smuggling more gold into India, the agency has found.

It said “evidence” retrieved from seized mobile phones and a forensic extraction of digital devices has revealed “detailed coordination” with foreign gold suppliers, “hawala” operators and Dubai-based customs agents.

Rao, according to the agency, denied knowledge of the seized gold and other assets during the recording of her statement by the ED, but her claims were “contradictory” when compared with the seized physical evidence, including customs documents bearing her name, travel and purchase records, and digital conversations.

The total proceeds of crime identified by the ED in the case stands at ₹55.62 crore.

This includes about ₹38.32 crore identified through an analysis of the evidence gathered during the course of the investigation like foreign invoices, customs declarations and hawala-linked remittances, according to the agency.

The attachment, the ED said, was carried out to prevent concealment or alienation of the tainted assets and secure the proceeds of crime even as it added that the investigation in the case is in progress, including identifying other individuals involved in the syndicate.

A search of Rao’s residence, post her arrest, unearthed an “unaccounted” amount of ₹2.67 crore in cash and gold jewellery worth ₹2.06 crore.