ED grills Shrushti scam accused; slush funds under scanner
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is currently interrogating the accused in the Srushti Fertility Centre case inside Chanchalguda Jail, is focusing on suspected money laundering linked to a large-scale illegal surrogacy and baby trafficking racket. The questioning will continue until October 28, with court approval obtained for the extended probe.
The ED took up this case primarily to investigate the financial trails under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following numerous FIRs filed by Hyderabad police beginning in 2019.
These FIRs involved accusations against Universal Srushti Fertility Centre and its head, Dr Athaluri Namratha, who operated a widespread scam involving fraudulent IVF and surrogacy services, infant trafficking, forged medical and birth records, and operations after the clinic's licence cancellation in 2021.
The racket deceived childless couples by promising surrogacy and IVF treatments costing between Rs 11 lakh and Rs 44 lakh. Instead, it engaged in selling babies bought from low-income families for as little as Rs 90,000 and passing them off as biological offspring through falsified documents.
DNA mismatches and infant substitution exposed the fraud when couples noticed a lack of genetic link to their children. Dr. Namratha, her son, medical staff, and agents were arrested during police raids across Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Guntur.
The ED is tracing the proceeds of this scam, which is believed to be multi-crore illicit transactions, including possible hawala deals estimated at around Rs 40 crore. The agency is scrutinizing digital and cash flows, as well as assets acquired through fraudulent means, and investigating potential tax evasion linked to this decade-long operation.
The investigation extends beyond Telangana into Andhra Pradesh, with suspensions of government doctors suspected of involvement and regulatory reforms triggered in the state’s fertility clinics sector.
Over 80 couples, including NRIs, have been identified as victims, and the ED’s probe into the money laundering angle aims to unearth the entire financial network supporting this surrogacy fraud and baby trafficking racket.
