Actor Ranya Rao, detained with 14.8 kg of gold at Bengaluru airport earlier this month, admitted to using funds funneled through hawala to acquire the gold, the anti-smuggling agency DRI informed a court on Tuesday.
While hearing Ranya Rao’s bail request, lawyer Madhu Rao, who represents the DRI, mentioned that officials served a notice under Section 108 to commence a judicial investigation against the actress. The inquiry seeks to assess the level of financial discrepancies and any possible breaches of the law.
Ranya Rao’s request for bail has been denied on two occasions, first by a lower court and then by the Special Court for Economic Offences.
ALSO READ: ‘Everything has limit’: Eknath Shinde on Kumar Kamra row
On March 3, the 31-year-old was detained at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, where officials seized gold bars valued at Rs 12.56 crore from the actor. A later search of her home allegedly led to the confiscation of gold jewelry worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian cash totaling Rs 2.67 crore.
The DRI’s major claim of Ranya Rao’s admission in the gold smuggling case emerged shortly after it claimed to possess proof of the actor and her companion Tarun Raju making 26 journeys to Dubai, departing in the morning and returning by evening.
Tarun is Ranya’s friend who acts and is a suspect in the gold-smuggling case. Ranya transferred funds to Tarun’s account and purchased his ticket, and he then traveled from Dubai to Hyderabad, officials disclosed.
