E-Paper
₹34-cr assets attached in Ranya Rao gold smuggling case
DRI intercepted Rao on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, with 14.213 kg of concealed 24-carat foreign-origin gold, valued at ₹12.56 crore
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth ₹34.12 crore in its money laundering probe into gold smuggling syndicate involving Kannada actress Ranya Rao, agency said on Friday while adding that the accused had detailed coordination with foreign gold suppliers, hawala operators, and Dubai-based customs agents and public officials at airports in India are also under scrutiny.
“ED, Headquarter Investigative Unit-II, New Delhi has provisionally attached immovable properties valued at ₹34.12 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case involving transnational gold smuggling and laundering of its proceeds by Harshavardini Ranya alias Ranya Rao and her associates. The attached assets include immovable properties located in Bengaluru and Tumkur districts of Karnataka,” ED said in a statement.
The financial crimes probe agency said it has identified proceeds of crime worth ₹55 crore in the smuggling so far.
ED is among several central agencies - along with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Directorate of Revenue and Intelligence (DRI) - that are looking into a larger conspiracy into the gold smuggling racket.
Its probe is based on a CBI case filed in March 7 this year following a complaint by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
DRI had intercepted Rao, stepdaughter of a director general of police rank officer, on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, with 14.213 kg of concealed 24-carat foreign-origin gold, valued at ₹12.56 crore. A search of her residence led to the recovery of ₹2.67 crore in unaccounted Indian currency and gold jewellery worth ₹2.06 crore.
The agency said on Friday its probe revealed that “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. False customs declarations were filed in Dubai, fraudulently declaring the destination of gold shipments as Switzerland or the USA, while the actual travel of the gold smugglers was 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,” ED said.
Further, ED investigation has 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, have revealed detailed coordination with foreign gold suppliers, hawala operators, and Dubai-based customs agents. Ranya Rao’s involvement in generating, possessing, and circulating proceeds of crime was further corroborated by her digital footprint, which includes invoices, export declarations, foreign remittance records, and recorded chats establishing her active role in the smuggling syndicate,” agency said.
Earlier, ED had in May raided 16 locations, including educational institutes linked to Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara and some hawala and forex dealers in this case.
ED recorded Rao’s statement during which she knowledge of the seized gold and other assets; however, her claims were demonstrably contradicted by seized physical evidence, including customs documents bearing her name, travel and purchase records, and digital conversations, agency statement said.
“Despite the seizure of 14.2 kg of smuggled gold and associated assets by DRI, the total proceeds of crime identified during ED’s investigation have been quantified at ₹55.62 Crore. This includes approximately ₹38.32 Crore identified through analysis of the evidence gathered during the course of investigation by ED e.g. foreign invoices, customs declarations, and hawala-linked remittances,” ED added.
“It has also emerged during investigation that Ranya Rao 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,” it said.
As a substantial portion of the proceeds of crime had been layered and reinvested into immovable assets to project them as untainted, ED said it has provisionally attached four properties of equivalent value belonging to Ranya Rao. These include a residential house in Victoria Layout, Bengaluru; a residential plot in Arkavathi Layout, Bengaluru; industrial land in Tumkur District; and agricultural land in Anekal Taluk, with a combined fair market value of ₹34.12 Crore.
“Further investigation is under progress to trace the remaining proceeds of crime and identify other individuals and entities involved in the syndicate,” it said.
