HYDERABAD: The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) probe into an alleged illegal surrogacy and baby-selling network linked to Dr Pachipala Namratha has uncovered a sprawling financial trail, including 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 provisional attachment order, investigators traced a complex financial network used to launder alleged proceeds of crime over more than a decade. The ED pegged the total proceeds of crime at Rs 29.7 crore, based on average amounts allegedly charged to childless couples at a Visakhapatnam clinic between 2014 and July 2025, along with funds collected from victims allegedly duped in the name of IVF treatment.
The agency divided the estimated illegal surrogacy operations into three phases. Between 2014 and 2018, it estimated 72 deliveries at an average of Rs 10 lakh each, amounting to Rs 7.2 crore. From 2019 to 2023, 110 deliveries were estimated at Rs 14 lakh each, totalling Rs 15.4 crore. For 2024–2025, 31 deliveries at an average of Rs 23 lakh each were pegged at Rs 7.1 crore.
A key focus of the investigation was bank accounts linked to Namratha, her relatives, and associated hospitals. The ED found that around Rs 40 crore was deposited in cash into these accounts between 2014 and 2025, while about Rs 20 crore was withdrawn in cash during the same period.
Investigators suspect the cash trail was used to pay agents and procure newborns from vulnerable biological parents. The ED described the pattern of deposits and withdrawals as central to tracking the movement of funds.
Namratha reportedly claimed the money came from consultancy, rental, and agricultural income. However, the ED said she failed to satisfactorily explain the scale of cash transactions, particularly during periods when her medical licence was suspended.
The agency also outlined a three-tier flow of funds. At the first level, childless couples allegedly paid between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh per child via cheque, bank transfer, or cash into Namratha’s accounts. At the second level, funds were routed to key agents, including Dhanasri Santoshi, with large sums withdrawn in cash to obscure the trail—among them Rs 14.6 lakh allegedly paid to associate SSS Sai Kumar. At the third level, payments were made to biological parents, who were allegedly paid around Rs 3.5 lakh for a female child and Rs 4.5 lakh for a male child. Sub-agents and couriers reportedly received commissions of about Rs 50,000 per case.
The ED said the transactions were structured to present the alleged purchase of children as legitimate medical and surrogacy expenses.
Among the attached assets are the Universal Srushti Hospital building in Secunderabad, a hospital building in Vijayawada, and an under-construction hospital in Maharanipet, Visakhapatnam. A five-storey building in Siddharthanagar, Visakhapatnam, which generates rental income, has also been attached.
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 she resided.
The attachment also covers over 15 parcels of agricultural land in Balemarru village in Guntur district and Dharanikota in Amaravati, as well as 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, property acquisitions, and layered financial structure indicate how the alleged proceeds of crime were generated, circulated, and converted into assets over the years.
