India’s financial crime-fighting agency is investigating seven locations on suspicion of money laundering by Sresan Pharma, the cough syrup manufacturer linked to the deaths of several children over the past month, a source told Reuters on Monday.
At least 19 children died in the central state of Madhya Pradesh after consuming the syrup, which was banned following a test this month that revealed it contained levels of the toxic chemical diethylene glycol, nearly 500 times above the permissible limit.
The searches in Chennai, the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, pertain to allegations of money laundering and include the homes of top officials from the state’s drug control office, the source added.
The source requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Attempts to reach company owner G. Ranganathan, who was arrested last week, for comment went unanswered.
India, known as the ‘pharmacy of the world’, supplies 40% of the generic medicines used in the United States and more than 90% of all medicines in many African nations.
By law, Indian drug manufacturers are required to test each batch of raw materials and the final product.
Since 2023, exports of cough syrup have required further testing at government-mandated laboratories following the deaths of more than 10 children in Cameroon, Gambia, and Uzbekistan linked to Indian syrups.
However, Coldrif, the syrup involved in last month’s deaths, was sold only domestically.
Last week, the World Health Organization stated that the South Asian nation has a “regulatory gap” in screening locally-sold medicinal syrups.
Indian authorities, who have increased scrutiny of such syrups since the deaths, have also issued warnings against two others sold domestically, Respifresh and RELIFE, which were found to contain the same toxic chemical.
These are produced by Shape Pharma and Rednex Pharmaceuticals, based in the western state of Gujarat, but officials from neither company responded to calls from Reuters seeking comment.
