New Delhi, March 22 -- Arrested Kannada actress Ranya Rao and her associate Tarun Konduru Raju were cheated of Rs.2 crore by a Ugandan gold agent who had assured them of a direct supply of the precious metal from Africa, before they could buy gold in Dubai and smuggle it to India, officials familiar with the matter said on Saturday, quoting from the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) charge sheet in the gold smuggling case. Rao and Raju had sought help from Kenyan officials on the fraud before deciding against sourcing gold directly from Africa, the officials added, requesting anonymity. On March 3, 2025, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials had intercepted Ranya Rao, stepdaughter of senior IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao, at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru on her arrival from Dubai allegedly with a consignment of 14.213 kg of gold, valued at Rs.12.56 crore, concealed on her body. The Central Bureau of Investigation registered an FIR the same month, while ED launched a parallel money-laundering probe in the case and attached assets worth Rs.34.12 crore held in the name of Rao. On February 25, ED submitted a prosecution complaint, equivalent to a charge sheet, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Rao, Raju, and hawala dealer Sahil Sakariya Jain before a Bengaluru court. The agency alleged that the syndicate smuggled over 127 kg of gold valued at Rs.102 crore between March 2024 and March 2025. The gold was later sold in the domestic market through a network of handlers and jewellers, it claimed. An official quoting the charge sheet said the probe revealed that Rao and Raju first attempted the gold trade by sourcing it "from suppliers in African nations such as Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, using Dubai as a transit and trading hub". They opened a company called Vira Diamonds Trading LLC in Dubai in 2023 to facilitatethe import of precious metals, with Raju as equal partner. "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. They engaged a Uganda-based agent, Ben, agreeing to an initial 5 kg trial (to be followed by a 50 kg contract) for which they signed a contract and paid approximately $25,000 upfront, followed by two tranches of approx $10,000 each for purported taxes and fees," the official said. When no gold was delivered, Raju travelled to Kampala on January 1, 2024 to meet the agent. "There, at a refinery, Raju was shown gold and asked for an additional payment of Rs.1.70 crore to release the consignment. Rao was coordinating from Dubai to arrange cash and hand it over to Ben's associate in Dubai," the official said. "Raju eventually discovered that it was a scam, resulting in a loss exceeding Rs.2 crore." ED has claimed in the charge sheet that WhatsApp chats recovered from the accused suggest that payments were made to African suppliers, but it "doesn't have material evidence to substantiate the alleged scam" with them....