An alleged network accused of recruiting financially vulnerable women to procure human eggs for fertility clinics has come under the Enforcement Directorate's scrutiny, with searches conducted at 10 premises across Maharashtra.
The searches were carried out by the ED's Mumbai Zonal Office-II on October 16 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, covering premises in Thane, Baramati and Nashik.
The agency seized Rs 29 lakh in cash, froze bank lockers and mutual fund holdings, and seized documents and digital devices as part of the investigation.
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According to an ED press release issued on October 22, the investigation followed an FIR and a subsequent chargesheet filed by Badlapur (East) Police Station in Thane district.
The case names Manjusha Wankhede and 16 others. The allegations include cheating and forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, as well as alleged violations of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
ED, Mumbai has conducted search operations across 10 premises, including hospitals and IVF centres in Thane, Baramati, and Nashik, under the PMLA, 2002 in connection with an illegal human egg extraction racket run by Manjusha Wankhede and 16 others. The search resulted into seizure of Rs. 29 lakh in cash, freezing of bank lockers and mutual fund investments and recovery of incriminating documents and digital devices.
— ED (@dir_ed) October 22, 2026
How The Alleged Network Operated
Investigators suspect that intermediaries recruited women facing financial hardship by offering them money in exchange for donating their eggs.
According to the ED, agents allegedly channelled the eggs to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinics and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) banks through a network of businesses operating under different proprietorships.
The investigation has also uncovered the alleged preparation and use of forged documents, including Aadhaar cards, affidavits, consent letters, birth certificates, PAN cards, blood-test reports and insurance papers.
These documents were allegedly used to conceal donors' identities, facilitate repeated egg donations and falsely establish their medical fitness, the agency said.
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According to the ED, women were allegedly sent to establishments in Maharashtra and other states for egg retrieval procedures, potentially exposing them to medical risks while bypassing prescribed safeguards governing assisted reproductive procedures.
The agency said it had identified additional donor agents during the investigation. It has also traced multiple immovable properties and investments involving substantial amounts as it examines the alleged network's financial transactions.
Further investigation into the alleged racket and its financial trail is underway.
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