ED Raids Nine Places in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh for Fertility Scam
Searches underway in Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam over alleged violations of surrogacy laws and suspicious financial dealings
Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Thursday raided nine places in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in connection with alleged financial irregularities at Universal Srushti Fertility Centre, which was under scrutiny for the surrogacy and fertility scam.
According to sources, the ED conducted searches at five locations in Hyderabad including its fertility centre, and two locations in Vijayawada and two places in Visakhapatnam.
During the raids, the ED officials have focused on the case sheets of patients admitted in fertility centres, payment mode, issued bills and bill books, digital payments and receipts.
The ED officials suspected cash transactions between the fertility centre owner Athaluri Namratha and patients.
The officials verified the data of financial transactions, including bank statements issued in the name of Universal Srushti Fertility Centre, its owner Namratha and others. The ED suspected that the hospital management collected fees in the form of cash and invested into immovable properties located in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other places.
The ED initiated the investigation and conducted searches based on FIRs registered by the Hyderabad police. The Hyderabad police have arrested at least 25 persons including Namratha and others for indulging in child trafficking on the pretext of IVF and fertility treatment.
