India’s financial crime agency is investigating seven locations for suspected money laundering by Sresan Pharma, the cough syrup manufacturer linked to the deaths of several children last month, a source revealed to Reuters on Monday.
At least 19 children in Madhya Pradesh died after consuming the syrup, which was banned following tests that revealed diethylene glycol levels nearly 500 times the safe limit.
The searches in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, are connected to money laundering allegations and include the residences of senior officials from the state’s drug control office, the source added.
The source requested anonymity due to lack of authorization to speak with the media.
Attempts to reach company owner G. Ranganathan, arrested last week, went unanswered.
India, dubbed the ‘pharmacy of the world’, provides 40% of the generic medicines used in the U.S. and over 90% in many African countries.
Indian law mandates drugmakers to test each batch of raw materials and finished products.
Since 2023, cough syrup exports require additional testing at government-approved labs, following child deaths in Cameroon, Gambia, and Uzbekistan linked to Indian syrups.
However, Coldrif, the syrup involved in last month’s fatalities, was sold only within India.
Last week, the World Health Organization highlighted a “regulatory gap” in the monitoring of locally sold medicinal syrups in India.
Indian authorities, intensifying their scrutiny following the deaths, also warned about Respifresh and RELIFE, two other syrups found with the same toxic chemical. These are produced by Shape Pharma and Rednex Pharmaceuticals in Gujarat, but officials from these companies did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
