ED launches money laundering probe in Srushti Fertility Centre case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a money laundering investigation into the Universal Srushti Fertility Centre after uncovering a widespread surrogacy and baby trafficking scam. The raids, conducted across multiple branches in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur, have exposed a network led by Dr Athaluri Namratha, which systematically defrauded vulnerable families.

Authorities have so far arrested at least 25 individuals, revealing a major operation involving fraud, medical malpractice, and infant trafficking. The scam prompted wider investigations and regulatory action across Telangana and other states.

The Universal Srushti Fertility Centre promised surrogacy and IVF solutions to childless couples, charging between Rs 12.5 lakh and Rs 44 lakh. Instead of performing genuine surrogacy procedures, the operators bought babies from poor families for as little as Rs 90,000, swapped infants after delivery, and forged medical certificates, birth records, and surrogacy contracts to present unrelated children as the biological offspring of their clients. DNA tests exposed the fraud when couples noticed significant genetic differences in their supposed biological babies.

The criminal conspiracy involved a network of agents who recruited vulnerable women to sell their infants or to pose as surrogate mothers. Key suspects include Dr Namratha, her son (an advocate who used legal intimidation), a hospital anaesthetist, lab technicians, and medical associates who facilitated illegal deliveries and forged documents. Genuine surrogacy procedures were often not performed or were deliberately substituted with purchased infants, a process aided by colluding biological parents and falsified hospital records. Dr Namratha and her close associates operated at least eight implicated centres, even after their licences had been cancelled.

More than 80 couples are now believed to be victims, with families from across India and abroad defrauded in multi-crore transactions. Several couples, including some from Rajasthan and Assam, reported paying substantial sums only to receive children with no genetic link to them, or in some cases, no child at all. When confronted, the clinic reportedly attempted to coerce silence, threatened legal action, or denied access to paperwork. The scale of the scam suggests that hundreds of similar cases may exist.

Simultaneous raids were conducted by Hyderabad and Telangana police in July-August 2025 on all implicated branches, leading to the arrest of medical staff, agents, and biological parents involved in the transactions. Seized assets include forged documents, medical equipment, and financial data used in laundering the proceeds. The ED is now tracing digital and cash flows, investigating potential tax evasion, and following up on parallel FIRs.

The exposure of this scam has led to the formation of a high-level state committee to inspect all private fertility centres in Telangana.

The committee has revealed widespread negligence and regulatory loopholes in hospital administration far beyond Srushti.

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, are now being enforced more rigorously, with new policy reforms and periodic audits planned to prevent similar incidents in the future.