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Bengaluru:
Actor Ranya Rao, arrested for smuggling gold into the country, was also part of a massive hawala racket amounting to over Rs 38 crore, investigators have said. NDTV has accessed a remand copy of Sahil Jain, the accused number 3 in the case. This document has shocking details of how he and Ranya Rao did not just smuggle gold from Dubai, but allegedly moved money through hawala routes.
Besides Ranya Rao, her close aide Tarun Raju has been arrested in this connection and is the second accused. Sahil Jain, the third accused, is a gold merchant who allegedly helped her dispose of the smuggled gold.
According to the investigators, Sahil has said he assisted and abetted “A1” — accused No 1 Ranya Rao — in disposing of 14 kg gold worth Rs 11.5 crore in January. He has also said he helped her move hawala money worth Rs 55 lakh in Bengaluru. According to the remand copy, Sahil has also told the investigators that he helped Ranya Rao dispose 13 kg gold worth Rs 11.8 crore and hawala money worth Rs 11.25 crore to Dubai in February. He also assisted her in moving hawala money worth Rs 55 lakh to Bengaluru.
The investigators have said that Sahil helped Ranya Rao dispose of a total of nearly 50 kg gold worth around Rs 40 crore and hawala cash to the tune of Rs 38 crore between Dubai and Bengaluru. He has said he was receiving a commission of Rs 55,000 for each of these transactions, according to the remand note.
Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru airport on March 3 after she flew in from Dubai. A team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence recovered gold bars from her. “Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kg were found ingeniously concealed on person. The contraband, valued at Rs 12.56 crore was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962,” a DRI statement said.
The search then moved to her home on Bengaluru’s Lavelle Road and the investigators found gold jewelry worth Rs 2 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash. According to remand note, this cash is likely hawala money she received by purchasing gold in Dubai and selling it in Bengaluru.
Ranya Rao is the stepdaughter of senior IPS officer Ramchandra Rao. The officer has claimed he was not in touch with her and was unaware of her illegal activities. The officer has been sent on compulsory leave and also questioned about the case to establish if he was involved.
Ranya Rao came under the radar due to her frequent trips abroad. She made as many as 27 trips to Dubai last year.
