It is difficult to make conveyor belt and baggage-scanning scenes thrilling -- which is how most people trying to sneak out through the Green Channel are caught -- but Neeraj Pandey and co-director Raghav M Jairath and co-writer Vipul K Rawal make sure there is enough going on to make the series watchable, raves Deepa Gahlot.
WGC had earlier estimated around 200 tonnes of gold was brought into India through smuggling in calendar year 2013.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday searched locations in Karnataka, including educational institutions linked to state Home Minister G Parameshwara, as part of a probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actor Ranya Rao and others. The ED sources said an educational trust is suspected to have "diverted" funds and made a payment of Rs 40 lakh towards the credit card bill of Rao, allegedly on the instructions of an influential individual. The sources claimed the trust is linked to Parameshwara and the "influential" individual is a politically exposed person. The searches found there were no supporting vouchers or documentation to "substantiate" this payment (for credit card bill payment), they said.
The move could aggravate shortages in the physical market as authorities seize gold without a valid provenance.
Around Diwali, the premiums had gone up to as much as 3.5 per cent.
Official sources say that the finance ministry is aware of the possible spike in smuggling activity and has already asked intelligence agencies to tighten their vigilance and come down on the unofficial entry of gold into India.
Total pending Customs arrears, including amounts under litigation, court stays and cases where the appeal period has not expired, stood at about Rs 1.36 trillion at the end of December 2024.
The high import duty on gold, local taxes and restrictions on imports are leading to a rise in smuggling of the commodity into the country.
The government has asked jewellers to provide information on purchases of gold bars or jewellery worth more than Rs 500,000 by the end of this month, a move seen keeping a check on big transactions amid rising smuggling.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday continued its searches at places linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara as part of the probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actress Ranya Rao and others, official sources said.
Gold demand in India is expected to be robust in 2014, likely leading to a further jump in smuggling if curbs on bullion imports remain, the World Gold Council (WGC) said.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao's stepfather, Director General of Police Ramchandra Rao, has been sent on compulsory leave.
Junior Civil Aviation Minister G M Siddeshwara told Parliament that disciplinary action has been taken against the employees.
The Karnataka government has withdrawn its order directing the Criminal Investigation Department to probe possible lapses and dereliction of duty by police officers at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru in connection with actor Ranya Rao's gold smuggling case. The CID probe order was issued on Monday night. A subsequent order on Wednesday withdrawing the CID investigation stated that Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta is already probing the possible role of Ranya's stepfather, K Ramachandra Rao, a DGP-rank officer, in the case. Gupta's inquiry will focus on the facts and circumstances leading to the misuse of protocol-related facilities and Rao's involvement in the case. Recently, gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from Ranya at Kempegowda International Airport here. The next day, officials said, searches were conducted at her residence where gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash were recovered.
The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has confirmed that Kannada actor Ranya Rao, recently arrested for gold smuggling, was allotted 12 acres of industrial land in 2023 by the previous BJP government for setting up a steel plant. The allocation was approved during a state-level meeting in January 2023, when the BJP was in power. The Congress government, which came to power after the May 2023 elections, has released documents confirming the land allotment. Ranya Rao was arrested after gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from her at Bengaluru airport.
Customs officials in Kerala conducted raids across the state, seizing luxury vehicles illegally imported from Bhutan with forged documents. The operation, dubbed 'Operation Numkhor,' targeted multiple locations and uncovered a network involved in smuggling cars, gold, and drugs.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao's frequent trips to Dubai have come under intense scrutiny following her arrest for allegedly smuggling gold into India.
Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya, accused in a gold smuggling case, has alleged that DRI officials assaulted her and forced her to sign blank and typed papers. She claims she was wrongly accused of carrying over 14 kg of gold upon her return from Dubai and was physically abused while in detention. Ranya also alleges that officials threatened to expose her father's identity if she refused to sign fabricated statements.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru International Airport for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kg of gold. Authorities suspect she may have attempted to use her connections to bypass customs checks. Officials are investigating whether she was acting alone or part of a larger smuggling network.
40-50 tonnes of gold may have been smuggled into India in July-September; industry seeks duty cut
In a draft paper prepared by the RBI seeking public opinion until January 18, the banking regulator has proposed a financial instrument linked to gold to curb the demand of its physical holding.
Wardak had taken charge as the acting ambassador of Afghanistan to New Delhi since late last year after working as the Afghan Consul General in Mumbai for over two years.
An Air India Express flight cabin crew has been arrested by the Customs for allegedly smuggling over 1.4 kg gold through Cochin International Airport near Kochi, official sources said.
Shah also said Kerala used to be known for development, literacy and for promoting tourism, but "with the ruling LDF and opposition UDF coming to power alternately has resulted in making the state a platform for political violence."
To check rising current account deficit, the government raised import duties and the RBI imposed curbs on import of the metal and also laid down various pre-conditions for inward shipments of the precious metal.
To check rising current account deficit, the government has raised import duties and the Reserve Bank of India had imposed curbs on import of the yellow metal and also laid down various pre-conditions for inward shipments of the precious metal.
The government has hiked gold import duty to 15 per cent from 10.75 per cent to check the current account deficit (CAD) and rising import of the yellow metal. The duty changes came into effect on June 30. Earlier, the basic customs duty on gold was 7.5 per cent, now it will be 12.5 per cent.
'It has also outlived its initial purpose of reducing physical gold imports.'
Looking at the OTT releases coming up this summer.
Most investors should have a 5% to 10% allocation to gold for diversification. They should stagger their investments to mitigate timing risk.
Thirty people who were detained at the Lucknow airport for allegedly smuggling gold into the country escaped after one of them pretended to fall sick and created chaos, officials said.
But for those who come to watch Rajini for a larger-than-life, first-day-first-show vibe, he will not disappoint in Coolie, raves Divya Nair.
At a time when none in Kerala's Left politics questioned the chief minister's authority, MLA P V Anvar hurled a series of accusations against Pinarayi Vijayan's government, notes Shyam G Menon.
'Customers are coming in; if they aren't buying, they are at least visiting the stores, which was not the case before the Budget.'
Sejal Shah's flatly-narrated timeline would probably serve better as a documentary, observes Sukanya Verma.
Huge margins, high custom duty and increasing demand among youngsters have led to exponential increase in smuggling of foreign cigarettes.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has stepped up its watch on the import of unbranded gold jewellery amid a spurt in seizures on international borders and from importers. During FY24, the CBIC and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) jointly seized about 5 tonnes of gold, 30 per cent more than what they did in FY23. In FY23, 3.5 tonnes of gold was confiscated.
Gold imports more than doubled in August to a record high of $10.06 billion, mainly on account of a drastic cut in customs duty and ongoing festive demand, according to the Commerce Ministry data. Gold imports stood at $4.93 billion in August 2023. On record high imports, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the tariff rates on gold have been reduced drastically so that smuggling and other activities can come down.
Sukanya Verma looks at Bollywood's best-known diamond robberies in film.
The investigation agency said during the custody, Suresh had disclosed that she had kept proceeds of the crime at the bank lockers and invested as deposits in various banks.
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