ED files charge sheet against Ranya Rao, 2 others; says 127 kg gold worth ₹102 crore smuggled to India

The agency named Ranya Rao, and her two others - Tarun Konduru and Sahil Sakariya Jain - as accused in its prosecution complaint

Updated on: Feb 25, 2026, 19:17:28 IST

By Neeraj Chauhan

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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday filed a charge sheet in its money laundering probe into gold smuggling syndicate involving Kannada actress Ranya Rao, alleging that the syndicate smuggled over 127 kg of gold worth over ₹102 crore in a year to India and disposed it off in the domestic market through a network of handlers and jewellers.

Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested over alleged gold smuggling while returning from Dubai last year. (YouTube/ Anand Audio)

The agency named Ranya Rao, and her two others - Tarun Konduru and Sahil Sakariya Jain - as accused in its prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed under prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) before a special court in Bengaluru.

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 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case filed on March 7, 2025 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, 2025 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 resulted in the recovery of ₹2.67 crore in unaccounted Indian currency and gold jewellery worth ₹2.06 crore.

“ED headquarters Investigation Unit-II (HIU-II), New Delhi has filed a prosecution complaint on Wednesday under PMLA against Harshavardini Ranya alias Ranya Rao, Tarun Konduru and Sahil Sakariya Jain in connection with a large-scale gold smuggling and money laundering case,” the agency said in a statement.

Investigations, ED said, revealed that “a total of 127.287 kg of gold valued at approximately ₹102.55 crore was smuggled into India during the period - March 2024 to March 2025”.

“The smuggled gold was disposed of in the domestic market through a network of handlers and jewellers. The sale proceeds were generated in cash and settled through hawala channels in India and abroad. These funds were further layered and routed through multiple bank accounts and entities to project them as legitimate business transactions,” ED said in its statement.

The federal agency had carried out raids in the matter on May 21 and 22 last year and found incriminating documents, digital devices, Indian currency and foreign currency. To complete its probe, ED recorded statements of several persons.

The agency last year also attached assets worth ₹34.12 crore held in the name of Ranya Rao.

“The investigation has revealed an organised and structured mechanism involving procurement of gold abroad, illegal import into India, cash-based disposal and subsequent laundering of proceeds through hawala and banking channels. Such activities not only undermine the legal trade and financial systems but also erode public trust in institutions meant to regulate cross-border transactions,” ED said on Wednesday.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Chauhan
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More

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