Kannada actress Ranya Rao, arrested in the context of a case of gold smuggling, admitted that she remitted money via hawala networks for gold purchase, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) told the court when it heard her bail plea.
DRI representative Advocate Madhu Rao said Ranya Rao confessed to making financial transactions through illegal channels. The confession tightens the case against her as investigators investigate the network behind the suspected illegal gold trade.
The authorities have put out a notice under Section 108, opening up a judicial inquiry into the case. The officials explained that this is as part of a legal inquiry and not an interrogation by the police. The investigation seeks to determine the magnitude of financial misappropriation and if there are any law-breaking instances.
The DRI probe comes after a crackdown on illicit gold smuggling syndicates running through clandestine financial channels. The hawala transactions are said to be widely employed in such operations in order to evade official banking channels and remain undetected.
The court is likely to consider the evidence brought on record, Rao’s bail plea depending on how the case further unfolds. In the meantime, the authorities are trying to track the wider network involved in the financial transactions.
With continuous monitoring against illegal gold transactions and hawala networks, law enforcement organizations keep strengthening checks to prevent such illegal operations. The result of this case might act as a benchmark for potential investigations into finance crimes related to smuggling in the future.
