The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has carried out searches at multiple locations linked to Megh Shah and Mahendra Shah in Ahmedabad and Mumbai on August 7 and 8 in connection with a case involving the seizure of 88 kg of gold, most of it with foreign markings.
The probe under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, was launched after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Gujarat ATS jointly seized the gold from a flat in Ahmedabad’s Paldi area. About 52 kg of the seized gold had markings linked to Dubai, Australia and Switzerland.
During the latest searches, the ED said it seized around Rs 15 lakh in cash, four luxury cars, a BMW X6M, Bentley Continental GT, BMW 730 LD and BMW 328i, along with imported watches from brands such as Rolex and Cartier worth about Rs 1.51 crore. Officials also recovered stamps and cheque books of around 40 companies or entities. The agency said further investigation is in progress.
The ED has intensified its crackdown on gold smuggling, especially after the case involving Kannada actor Harshavardini Ranya, also known as Ranya Rao.
The anti-money laundering agency had earlier attached assets worth over Rs 34 crore belonging to Rao in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to a gold smuggling racket. Rao, 32, was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on March 3 at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport after arriving from Dubai. Officials seized 14.2 kg of gold bars valued at Rs 12.56 crore from her possession.
A PMLA case was filed against Rao and some others after taking cognisance of a March CBI FIR and a DRI complaint about a larger gold-smuggling racket in India.
The ED alleged that Rao, along with Tarun Konduru Raju and others, ran a “well-structured” operation to smuggle gold from Dubai, Uganda and other countries into India. Payments were routed through hawala channels, bypassing legal financial systems. Investigators suspect some public servants may have assisted her at the airport.
The attached properties include a house in Victoria Layout, a plot in Arkavathi Layout, industrial land in Tumkur, and agricultural land in Anekal taluk.
According to the agency, false customs declarations were used to disguise gold shipments as headed to Switzerland or the US, while the smugglers actually flew to India. The smuggled gold was sold for cash to local jewellers, with proceeds sent abroad to finance further consignments.
A search of Rao’s home after her arrest led to the recovery of Rs 2.67 crore in cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore. The ED has identified proceeds of crime worth Rs 55.62 crore.