Fresh Trouble For Ranya Rao: Actress Gets DRI Notice To Pay Fine Of ₹102.55 Crore Amid Gold Smuggling Row

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has imposed a fine of ₹102.55 crore on Kannada film actress Ranya Rao, who was sentenced to jail in an illegal gold smuggling case, including other three accused, DRI said, mentioning if she fails to pay it, then the property can be seized, ANI reported.

It added that the police arrested her in March for illegally smuggling gold at Kempegowda International Airport. The DRI officials confiscated 14.8 kg of gold from her. As part of the probe, it was revealed she had visited Dubai 4 times in about 15 days and smuggled gold.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) stated,“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 (Dubai Customs deceleration attached for reference), 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-- one for the declared export destination and the other for their actual arrival in India, to evade scrutiny and facilitate smuggling through Indian airports," it further said.

It added,“Evidence retrieved from the seized mobile phones and forensic extraction of digital devices has 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.”

Penalty on other accused

A penalty amounting to ₹63 crore was imposed on hotelier Tarun Kondaraju, while ₹56 crore each on jewellers Sahil Sakaria Jain and Bharat Kumar besides her. She orchestrated a meticulously plannel operation for smuggling gold into India, as per an ED investigation, ANI report noted.

Upon reaching the Bengaluru Central Jail, the DRI officials issued a 250-page notice along with 2,500-page annexure to them.“It was a herculean exercise to prepare a detailed notice along with supporting documents. Today we served 11,000 pages of documents to the accused,” PTI quoted a DRI source as saying.

Rao, the step-daughter of senior police officer K Ramachandra Rao, who holds the rank of Director General of Police, was sentenced to one year in prison in July this year under the strict Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) for her involvement in a gold smuggling case.

According to DRI sources cited by PTI, the High Court took up the COFEPOSA-related case on Tuesday and scheduled the next hearing for September 11.

(With inputs from agencies)

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