50 kg gold deal, ₹2 cr payment: How Ranya Rao was duped by a Ugandan agent

NBetimes deuce years before Ranya Rao was arrested by the board of directors of Revenue intelligence service (DRI) at the Bengaluru airdrome for smuggling gold, the Kannada actor and her associate were cheated of ₹2 crore by a Ugandan gold agent, officials have revealed.In March 2025, Rao was arrested from the Bengaluru airport after she returned from Dubai allegedly with a consignment of 14-kg of gold worth ₹12.56 crore concealed on her body.In a chargesheet filed last month, DRI officials said Rao and her associates smuggled 127.28 kg of gold valued at ₹102.55 crore into India between March 2024 and March 2025. The gold was later sold in the domestic market through a network of handlers and jewellers.Also Read: ₹102 crore smuggled to India">ED files charge sheet against Ranya Rao, 2 others; says 127 kg gold worth ₹102 crore smuggled to IndiaOfficials have now revealed that Rao and her associate, Tarun Konduru Raju, tried sourcing gold from suppliers, based in African nations, including Uganda, before resorting to smuggling the prized metal from Dubai.A 'Ugandan agent’ and ₹2 crore fraudAn official aware of the probe told HT that Rao and Raju tried to source gold from suppliers in African nations, including Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.The duo also opened a company called Vira Diamonds Trading LLC in Dubai in 2023 to facilitate the transfer. Dubai was intended to be the transit and trading hub.“They were advised that African mines were the primary source of gold for Dubai’s markets so they attempted to directly procure it from Africa," the official said, citing the chargesheet.Rao and her associate got in touch with a Uganda-based agent, Ben, and the two sides agreed to an initial 5 kg trial, which was to be followed by a 50 kg contract.The duo also paid ₹25,000 (around 23.5 lakh) upfront, followed by two separate payments of around $10,000 each ( ₹9.39 lakh). However, the Uganda-based agent didn't deliver any gold.On January 1, 2024, Raju travelled to Uganda city Kampala to meet the agent. He was shown the gold and asked for an additional payment of ₹1.7 crore to release the consignment."Rao was coordinating from Dubai to arrange cash and hand it over to Ben’s associate in Dubai. Raju eventually discovered that it was a scam, resulting in a loss exceeding ₹2 crore," the official said.Also Read: ‘Missing simple Bengaluru life’: Resident regrets moving to Bellandur from BasavanagudiEnforcement Directorate (ED) also claimed to have recovered the WhatsApp chats that showed the 'proof' of payments. However, there wasn't enough "material evidence to substantiate the alleged scam”, a second official said.Three strategies to smuggle goldAfter getting duped of ₹2 crore, Rao and Raju resorted to a similar venture in Kenya, but that too was aborted due to similar fraud, a third official said.The two even sought help from Kenyan officials on the fraud, but there was no resolution, which is when they decided against sourcing gold directly from Africa, as per officials.After aborting Uganda and Kenya operations, they resorted to purchasing gold directly withing Dubai’s local market from African dealers based in Dubai's largest gold market- the Deira gold souk.Also Read: Scooter rider crashes into car in Bengaluru, owner’s calm response wins praise: ‘Rare act of kindness’"By early 2024, they connected with African gold dealers in Dubai who offered limited quantities at discounts, essentially tapping into African-origin gold that had already reached Dubai. These Dubai-based suppliers insisted on cash payments and refused bank transfers, as is common in illicit bullion trades," the official said.The probe against the two have found an "organised" and "structured" mechanism, involving the procurement of gold abroad, illegal import into India, cash-based disposal and subsequent laundering of proceeds through hawala and banking channels, was taking place.The authorities have attached assets worth ₹34 crore during the investigation.(With inputs from Neeraj Chauhan)