11 People Charged in Illegal Adoption Case of Children: Who Are They?

The illegal adoption case of children has been transferred from the General Court of Yerevan to the Anti-Corruption Court, reports ArmLur.am.

On June 22 of this year, the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia announced that the investigation into the criminal cases of official negligence, abuse of official authority, child trafficking, and money laundering committed by officials during the adoption processes of Armenian minors by foreign nationals between 2015 and 2018 was completed. These cases were initiated at the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia and later examined by the investigative department for particularly important cases.

Based on the obtained evidence, charges have been filed against representatives of the aforementioned organizations under Article 168 (Second part, Second point) and Article 190 (Third part, First point) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, relating to the sale of children for adoption and laundering of proceeds obtained through illegal means. The head of the State Register's Agency for Civil Status Acts of the Ministry of Justice and the head of the Division of Ensuring International Commitments are charged under Article 168 (Second part, Second point) and Article 308 (Abuse of official authority, First part).

Additionally, the director of 'Children's House' in Yerevan, the head of the Children's Rights Protection Division of the Yerevan City Hall, the director, deputy director, medical doctor, and translator of the Republican Institute of Reproductive Health, Perinatology, Obstetrics and Gynecology are charged under Article 168 (Second part, Second point), while the head of the Children's Issues Division of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is charged under Article 308 (Second part) and another employee from the same division under Article 315 (Second part) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.