ED attaches actor Ranya Rao's assets in gold smuggling case: What to know

Indian Express

9 hours ago

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth over Rs 34 crore linked to Kannada actor Ranya Rao in a gold smuggling-related money laundering case. On Friday (July 4), the central agency said that false customs declarations were filed in Dubai — where Rao had a travel history — declaring the destination of gold shipments as Switzerland or the US, but in fact, it was for India.
'The attachments have been made in terms of Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as property equivalent in value to the untraced proceeds of crime identified during the course of investigation,' the ED said.
On March 3, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested Rao at the Bengaluru airport on her arrival from Dubai and recovered 14.2 kg of gold bars valued at more than Rs 12.56 crore from her possession. On March 9, the DRI arrested Telugu actor Tarun Konduru, Rao's accomplice.
The ED said, '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 probe revealed that the smuggled gold was then sold in India to jewellers and other local entities, and the proceeds were laundered through hawala remittances abroad to finance repeat smuggling consignments. Here is what to know.
In early March, DRI officials called it 'one of the biggest seizures of gold at Bengaluru airport in recent times.'
The DRI was investigating whether the incident was an isolated incident or a part of a series of gold-smuggling trips, noting that Rao, 33, travelled to Dubai 27 times over the previous six months.
The case also raised questions on possible police involvement, as local officers would escort Rao home from the airport after she returned from her frequent trips to Dubai. Rao is also the stepdaughter of the senior Karnataka IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao. She is alleged to have used airport protocol services available to her father to escape customs checks and detection at the Bengaluru airport on arrival from Dubai.
Earlier this month, the Income Tax (I-T) department said it would investigate Rao's wealth.
Until its repeal in 1990, the Gold (Control) Act, 1968, curbed gold imports and heavily restricted the acquisition, possession, and disposal of gold in India.
However, with economic liberalisation in the 1990s, the government modified its approach, imposing an import duty on gold at the rate of Rs 250 for every 10 grams, leading to a boom in gold imports in the following years.
Gold imports are largely governed by the Customs Act, 1962, and by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The customs duty for gold may differ depending on the amount of gold carried by a passenger and the duration spent abroad before travelling back to India, as per the Baggage Rules, 2016 (issued under the Customs Act).
Under these rules, a man residing abroad for over a year may carry up to 20 grams of jewellery duty-free (with a value cap of Rs 50,000), and a woman may similarly carry up to 40 grams (with a cap of Rs 1 lakh). The CBIC also has specific guidelines for Indian passengers returning from Dubai after residing there for over six months, allowing them to carry up to 1 kg of gold as long as the applicable customs duty is paid.
The customs duty for gold is:
3% customs duty: for men carrying 20-50 grams of gold and women carrying 40-100 grams;
6% customs duty: for men carrying 50-100 grams and women carrying 100-200 grams;
10% customs duty: For men carrying over 100 grams and women carrying over 200 grams.
In 2003, the Supreme Court held that any article imported without complying with the relevant conditions or restrictions must be considered a 'prohibited good'. Such goods are liable to be confiscated under Section 111 and punished under Section 112 of the Customs Act. The punishment may include a fine of up to the value of the goods. Section 135 provides a punishment of up to 7 years imprisonment if the market price of the smuggled goods exceeds Rs. 1 lakh.
Smuggling is also punishable under Section 111 (Organised Crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which punishes 'trafficking in…illicit goods' with imprisonment of at least five years, extendable to life imprisonment. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) also carries the same punishment for smuggling as a 'terrorist act' under Section 15 if it causes 'damage to the monetary stability of India'.
This is an updated version of an explainer published earlier this year.