29-Year-Old Woman and Her Mother Attempt to Sell Unborn Child

The Investigative Committee of Armenia revealed that a 29-year-old woman decided to sell her child while pregnant in the spring of 2018. In collaboration with her mother, she contacted a 45-year-old resident of Yerevan who had posted an advertisement seeking a surrogate mother, informing her that she was pregnant and after giving birth, planned to abandon the child. The woman proposed that the child be adopted for a sum of 1,200,000 AMD.

According to the Investigative Committee, the Yerevan resident, upon reaching a mutual agreement with the 29-year-old woman and her mother, financed her trips to various medical centers for examinations, during which she was presented at the “Shengavit” medical center. On August 20, 2018, the woman gave birth to a baby girl but informed her husband that the child had died during delivery.

Subsequently, on August 23, 2018, guided by the lawyer of the Yerevan resident, the 29-year-old woman, along with her husband, went to the territorial division of the Civil Registration Agency of the Ministry of Justice to falsely declare that the Yerevan resident’s husband was the child’s father.

To facilitate the fraudulent adoption process, on August 29, the couples, again guided by the lawyer, went to a Notary District, where the 29-year-old woman and the husband of the Yerevan resident presented themselves as the newborn's parents, consenting to allow 45-year-old woman to adopt their minor daughter. The 29-year-old woman and her mother received a total of 1,200,000 AMD in installments through cash and bank transfers for the sale of the child.

However, upon learning about the situation, the child’s father and her mother reclaimed the baby. Based on the gathered sufficient evidence, the 29-year-old woman, her mother, and the Yerevan couple were charged under part 4 of article 168, section 2 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, while the lawyer was charged under part 4 of article 34-168, section 2 of the Criminal Code. They were placed under a travel restriction as a measure of constraint. The pre-trial investigation has concluded, and the criminal case has been sent to court with an indictment.

Notification: The suspect or accused in the alleged crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia through a legally enforceable judicial decision.