A lawyer was convicted by the Court of Appeal to 4 years in prison for brokering illegal adoptions, focusing on Northern Greece. The Mixed Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki found him guilty of mediating an illegal adoption with the aim of unfairly benefiting jointly, for profit and by profession.

The court recognized two mitigating factors for him, while his sentence was suspended on the condition that he donates the amount of 3,000 euros to “Smile of the Child”. The same sentence had been imposed on him in the first instance.

The case file involved five cases of illegal adoptions – four in 2016 and the fifth in 2014. The biological mothers were from Bulgaria and they were persuaded due to their financial difficulties to come and give birth in clinics in Greece and then, for a small fee, give the newborns up for adoption.

The same case file includes mediators, as well as the biological mothers. For the latter, the prosecution was at the level of a misdemeanor and stopped, while for the rest (of Bulgarian origin) who seem to have had a leading role in the case, the process was suspended and they are being sought.

According to the same case file, the net fees of the convicted lawyer exceeded 32,000 euros (as the case may be, amounts from 2,000 to 18,000 euros were deposited into his bank account).

In his apology, he denied the charge, as well as that the money ended up with him, while he claimed that it was fees intended for clinics, notaries, etc.