Doctors accused of selling babies abroad in Russian child trafficking scandal

A chilling child trafficking scheme has been uncovered in Russia’s Primorsky District, where eight medical professionals from a private clinic are facing serious criminal charges.

Prosecutors have approved an indictment accusing them of running an organised operation that sold newborns to foreign clients under the cover of infertility treatments, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

The doctors allegedly falsified medical records between 2018 and 2020, inserting fake diagnoses of infertility for clients and genetic parents alike. They used assisted reproductive technologies to produce embryos, orchestrating the birth of babies through surrogacy, not to treat infertility, but to sell the infants abroad.

Thirteen newborns were trafficked in total, investigators say, with the scheme earning the group around 53 million rubles (roughly $674,100). That figure includes both clinical procedure fees and compensation for surrogate mothers. Prosecutors emphasised that the cases involved surrogacy arrangements commissioned by foreign nationals.

The accused now face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of trafficking minors as part of an organised criminal group.

Meanwhile, in a separate but equally disturbing development, authorities in Argentina arrested Konstantin Rudnev, the founder of the banned Russian cult “Ashram Shambhala.” Rudnev was taken into custody after a pregnant underage Russian girl with signs of abuse was brought to a hospital by two women and prohibited from speaking.

Twelve more individuals have been detained in Argentina in connection with Rudnev's case, all suspected of involvement in human trafficking.

By Tamilla Hasanova