The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 34.12 crore belonging to Kannada actress Ranya Rao in connection with a transnational gold smuggling and money laundering case. The attached assets are located in Bengaluru and Tumkur districts of Karnataka and are considered equivalent to the untraced proceeds of the crime. The action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which in turn was based on a complaint by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). The case initially surfaced when DRI officials intercepted two foreign nationals, an Omani and a UAE citizen, at Mumbai International Airport with 21.28 kg of smuggled gold valued at Rs 18.92 crore.
Prior to this, on March 3, 2025, Ranya Rao was apprehended at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for attempting to smuggle 14.213 kg of 24-carat gold, worth Rs 12.56 crore. A subsequent search of her residence led to the seizure of Rs 2.67 crore in unaccounted cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore.
Investigations suggest that Rao, along with her associate Tarun Konduru Raju and others, ran a sophisticated syndicate that smuggled gold from Dubai, Uganda, and other locations. Payments were allegedly facilitated through hawala channels, bypassing the formal financial system. The syndicate purportedly filed false export declarations in Dubai, misrepresenting shipment destinations as Switzerland or the USA, while couriers traveled to India carrying the gold using dual sets of travel documents.
The ED's investigation further revealed that the smuggled gold was sold within India for cash, which was then laundered through further hawala transactions to finance repeat consignments. Forensic analysis of seized digital devices indicated coordination between Rao, foreign suppliers, hawala operators, and Dubai-based customs agents.
In March 2025, the ED conducted raids on multiple locations linked to the accused in Bengaluru, including Rao's residence on Lavelle Road and the residence of Tarun Raj, the grandson of a star hotel owner, on Kumara Park East Road. Raids were also carried out on premises linked to a gold mortgage and loan company in Koramangala due to suspicious transactions related to laundering smuggled gold. The DRI also searched the residence of Rao's husband, Jatin Hukkeri, in Koramangala.
While Rao has claimed to be merely a mule carrying gold for an unknown person, the ED is investigating whether she was involved in the trade of smuggled gold, buying it in Dubai and selling it in India.
Recent updates indicate that ED has been conducting searches at a high-profile hospital connected to a Karnataka minister in connection with the money laundering case.
