ED attaches 50 properties worth ₹29.76 crore in illegal surrogacy and child trafficking case

ED provisionally attaches ₹29.76 crore wroth 50 properties linked to illegal surrogacy and child trafficking run by Pachipalli Namratha in Hyderabad

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad zonal office, has provisionally attached 50 immovable properties worth ₹29.76 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in connection with an alleged illegal surrogacy and child trafficking racket run by Pachipalli Namratha alias Athluri Namratha, through the Universal Srusthi Fertility and Research Centre.

According to the ED, the attached assets include land parcels, flats and a hospital held in the names of Dr. Namratha and her sons. While the provisional attachment value stands at ₹29.76 crore, the agency estimates the current market value of these properties to be around ₹50 crore.

The investigation was initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered at the Gopalapuram police in Hyderabad, for offences including fraud, cheating, criminal conspiracy, illegal surrogacy and child trafficking. Investigators said Dr. Namratha ran a racket through her clinic that supplied newborn babies to childless couples with the help of employees and agents.

The probe found that a network of agents and sub-agents arranged pregnant women from economically weaker backgrounds and persuaded them with money to hand over their newborns after delivery. According to investigators, Dr. Namratha allegedly paid around ₹3.5 lakh for a female child and ₹4.5 lakh for a male child.

The agency found that the accused had been operating the racket since 2014 and continued the activity even after several cases were registered against her and her medical licence was suspended.

During the investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, officials identified several properties in the names of Dr. Namratha and her sons. Payments for many of these assets were allegedly made in cash using proceeds of crime.