Trial begins in Crete over large-scale human trafficking and illegal IVF scheme
The three-judge Criminal Court of Crete has opened a trial involving 33 defendants accused of running a human-trafficking network that exploited vulnerable women for egg donation and surrogacy at a private clinic in Chania.
Today the Criminal Court of Crete heard the opening of a complex trial that consolidates two related investigations into a private fertility clinic in Chania. Thirty-three individuals face accusations ranging from forming a criminal organization to human trafficking, large-scale fraud, falsified medical certificates, illegal assisted-reproduction methods and illicit adoption arrangements. Evidence shows the network recruited women from Romania, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, housed them in multiple rented apartments, and restricted their movement while using their eggs for at least 1,200 recipients.
The clinic’s senior obstetrician and embryologist are identified as the primary organizers, with 31 additional participants including doctors, midwives, brokers and attorneys. Financial records indicate that the scheme generated multi-million-euro revenues, while the women received only modest monthly payments and post-birth compensation. Authorities also uncovered numerous fictitious embryo transfers and cryopreservation claims, costing over a million euros to patients who never received the services.
Why it matters
The trial exposes systemic abuse in assisted reproduction, highlighting risks of exploitation and regulatory failures.
In this story
