MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized cash worth ₹ 29 lakh and frozen several bank lockers and mutual fund ( MF) investments during searches conducted on Friday as part of its money-laundering investigation linked to the Badlapur human egg trafficking racket.
The racket was uncovered on February 19, 2026, when police found that an IVF centre registered in Nashik was allegedly operating an unauthorised facility in Thane without the required licences and approvals. Women were allegedly paid between ₹ 25,000 and ₹ 30,000 per cycle and recruited repeatedly as egg donors, despite restrictions on repeated donations, according to investigators. The Thane police’s charge sheet in the case names 17 accused, charged with cheating and forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with violations of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The investigation has revealed the use of forged documents, including Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, affidavits, consent letters, birth certificates, blood test reports, and insurance papers, to conceal donors’ identities, facilitate repeat egg donations, and falsely establish their medical fitness, officials said. The investigation is based on a case registered by the Thane police against a syndicate allegedly involved in a major illegal fertility scam in Badlapur.
