“They threatened us” – Surrogacy scandal on the Greek island of Crete

The alleged mastermind behind the case is one of four suspects. It concerns the 73-year-old obstetrician and owner of the clinic in Chania. An embryologist (44), a secretary (41) and a 38-year-old woman are also detained who allegedly made the arrangements with the surrogate mothers. An additional four people are being investigated.

Exploited surrogate mothers from Eastern Europe
The clinic is said to have exploited women from Eastern Europe on a large scale as surrogate mothers and to defraud people who wanted to have children with sham treatments. Since the end of 2022 alone, there have been 182 documented cases of women being exploited as egg donors and surrogate mothers. The court authorization required for this was often forged, as were adoption papers and medical records.

Women received 200 to 600 euros per month
The women from Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Romania and Bulgaria – many of them Romnja – mostly come from very poor backgrounds and were lured to Crete with false promises. For only 200 to 600 euros per month, they had to undergo the procedure of artificial insemination or egg cell donation with the necessary hormone treatments. The clinic, on the other hand, charged clients between 70,000 and 100,000 euros per child they wanted.

“They threatened us if we disobeyed!”
The exploited women lived in 14 apartments – and “in appalling conditions”, as one of them now revealed to a Greek newspaper. “If we did not comply, we risked being sent back to our country. We were under constant surveillance. Many girls I lived with were not mentally ready for pregnancy. Some were clearly depressed.”

In the meantime, couples who have had children with the help of the clinic have traveled to Crete. There they want to ask the court for permission to conduct DNA testing.