Law enforcement authorities have exposed a large-scale scheme of trafficking newborn babies abroad under the guise of surrogacy.
This was reported by the State Border Guard Service.
The scheme involves representatives of several private medical centers in Kharkiv and Kyiv, as well as other individuals such as lawyers and translators. In total, 12 people, including 2 organizers of the scheme, were directors of medical institutions.
The monetary reward for a newborn child ranged from 50,000 to 70,000 euros. The customers were foreigners from countries with a banned surrogacy regime, and they also did not comply with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation and the Procedure for the Use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies approved by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
“Members of the group sought out women in difficult financial situations who agreed to become surrogate mothers for foreign citizens. They promised them approximately 12,000 euros. The women did not receive full information about the conditions of participating in the commercial surrogacy program”, the statement said.
After childbirth, the women were forced, including through pressure or financial dependence, to register the children with the civil registration authorities, providing false information about the child’s biological origin and acknowledging the foreigners as the parents.
Subsequently, the surrogate mothers, who were officially registered as the mothers, submitted statements of refusal to the children in favor of the foreigners, also granting permission for the children to be taken abroad.
At the moment, about 40 cases of moving newborn children from Ukraine abroad in violation of the current legislation are being investigated. Currently, 12 suspects, including organizers and accomplices in the commission of the crime under Art. 28 Part 4, Art. 149 Part 3, and Art. 255 Part 1, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, have been reported. The perpetrators face imprisonment from eight to fifteen years.
Photo: getty images
