HYDERABAD: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into the alleged illegal surrogacy and baby selling network linked to Dr Pachipala Namratha has uncovered a vast money trail, with nearly Rs 40 crore in cash deposits, Rs 20 crore in withdrawals and 50 properties worth Rs 29.7 crore provisionally attached across Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.According to the agency’s provisional attachment order, the probe revealed a financial network used to launder proceeds of crime over more than a decade.The ED estimated the proceeds of crime at Rs 29.7 crore, calculated on the basis of average amounts allegedly charged to childless couples at a clinic in Visakhapatnam between 2014 and July 2025, along with money collected from victims who were allegedly cheated in the name of IVF treatment.The provisional attachment order divides the estimated illegal surrogacy deliveries into three phases.
Between 2014 and 2018, investigators estimated 72 deliveries at an average of Rs 10 lakh each, pegging the amount at Rs 7.2 crore. For the period from 2019 to 2023, the ED estimated 110 deliveries at an average of Rs 14 lakh each, taking the figure to Rs 15.4 crore. For 2024 and 2025, it estimated 31 deliveries at an average of Rs 23 lakh each, adding Rs 7.1 crore.A key focus of the investigation was bank accounts connected to Namratha, her relatives and hospitals linked to her. The ED found that between 2014 and 2025, around Rs 40 crore was deposited in cash into these accounts. During the same period, about Rs 20 crore was withdrawn in cash.Investigators believe this cash trail was used to pay agents and procure newborn babies from vulnerable biological parents. The agency described the pattern of deposits and withdrawals as central to tracing the money trail.The order also records that Namratha claimed the funds came from consultancy services, rental income and agricultural income. However, the ED said she did not provide satisfactory explanations for the large volume of cash transactions, particularly during periods when her medical licence was suspended.Investigators also mapped what they described as a three-tier movement of funds.At the first level, childless couples allegedly paid between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh per child through cheques, bank transfers or cash into Namratha’s accounts.At the second level, funds were transferred to lead agents, including Dhanasri Santoshi, while large sums were allegedly withdrawn in cash immediately to obscure the trail. This included Rs 14.60 lakh paid to associate SSS Sai Kumar.At the third level, payments allegedly reached biological parents. According to the investigation, they were paid around Rs 3.5 lakh for a female child and Rs 4.5 lakh for a male child. Sub-agents and couriers were paid commissions of about Rs 50,000 per case, with variations depending on the delivery.The ED said these financial transactions and communications were structured to present the illegal purchase of children as legitimate medical and surrogacy expenses.Among the attached assets are Universal Srushti Hospital building in Secunderabad, a hospital building in Vijayawada and an under-construction hospital building in Maharanipet in Visakhapatnam. The order also lists a five-storey building in Siddharthanagar in Visakhapatnam that generates rental income.Other properties include multiple flats in Jayanth Towers in Bachupally held in the names of Namratha and her husband, a residential plot in Shilpa Enclave in Kondapur, flats in Rams Pride Apartment and other locations in Vijayawada, and a villa at Palm Ridge Villas in Kondapur where Namratha resided.The attachment also includes more than 15 parcels of agricultural land in Balemarru village in Guntur district and Dharanikota in Amaravati, land in Nunna and Vedurupavuluru near Vijayawada, and vacant plots in Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam and Kukatpally in Hyderabad.The ED said the scale of cash movement, acquisition of properties and layered structure of financial transactions together illustrate how the alleged proceeds of crime were generated, circulated and converted into assets over the years.
