A surrogate mother and her client have been charged with child trafficking, according to the Investigative Committee of Russia's information center. Women born in 1987 and 1992 were detained in Moscow.
The agency reports that in May 2022, a Russian woman decided to become a surrogate mother and searched for a couple for whom she could carry a child. She met a woman online who wished to use her services, after which she underwent an IVF procedure using biological material at a private clinic and became pregnant. The biological mother transferred 25,000 rubles to the surrogate monthly throughout the pregnancy, and when a boy was born on November 3, she paid her one million rubles.
However, no documents were formalized; all agreements were verbal, the Investigative Committee notes. A criminal case has been initiated under the article "Human trafficking committed against a minor," and the suspects have been detained.
It is specified that the child's life is not in danger, and he has been placed in a specialized medical institution.
