India’s Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable properties valued at about Rs 34.12 crore belonging to Kannada film actor Ranya Rao under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The assets, located in Bengaluru and neighbouring Tumakuru district, are equivalent to the untraced proceeds of crime identified during an ongoing gold-smuggling investigation, the agency said. Rao was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on 3 March at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport after officers recovered 14.2 kg of gold bars worth roughly Rs 12.56 crore from her luggage on a flight arriving from Dubai. Subsequent inquiries indicated she and associate Tarun Konduru Raju allegedly procured gold from suppliers in Dubai, Uganda and other markets, paid via hawala channels and moved the metal into India using falsified customs paperwork that listed Switzerland or the United States as the destination. The ED said digital evidence shows Rao coordinated with foreign suppliers, hawala operators and Dubai-based customs agents to sell the smuggled bullion to Indian jewellers and recycle the proceeds offshore. Investigators are also examining the possible involvement of public officials who may have facilitated the operation. Further action could follow as the money-laundering probe continues.