Interpellation 2025/26:67 New crime classification and changed statute of limitations for illegal adoptions

by Lorena Delgado Varas (-)

to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M)

In recent decades, serious shortcomings have been revealed in connection with Sweden's international adoptions. The state's own adoption investigation shows that thousands of children were illegally adopted to Sweden through processes that involved document forgery, bribery, corruption, lack of consent and, in some cases, clear traces of human trafficking.

Belgian authorities have officially charged former European Commissioner Didier Reynders with money laundering, a person familiar with the case confirmed. 

He is not being held in custody, the person told Follow the Money and Belgian media partners Le Soir, De Standaard, and Le Vif. 

In December 2024, just days after Reynders’ mandate as EU justice commissioner ended, Belgian authorities raided his home on suspicions of money laundering, Follow the Money and Le Soir first reported at the time. 

The investigation has focused on the origins of close to 1 million euros. 

Reynders is suspected of having laundered about 700,000 euros through his personal bank account between 2008 and 2018. He then allegedly started laundering some 200,000 euros by buying large amounts of lottery tickets and transferring any winnings to that personal account.

Cuttack: She was a child when she left Basundhara orphanage here after being adopted by an American couple. Around 26 years later, Sudhanya Dunn returned to the place which sheltered her on Friday, to celebrate her first wedding anniversary, marking a moment filled with emotion and nostalgia.
Sudhanya was aged 10 months when she was left at the orphanage in 1994. In 1999, she was adopted by Hollie McGillicuddy and Jeff Dunn of USA, giving her a new life abroad. She later became a nurse and married Indian-origin professional Harsh Dua on Oct 27, 2024.
 

This week, she returned to the orphanage accompanied by six family members — including her adoptive parents and in-laws — to celebrate her wedding anniversary. Joy, nostalgia and heartfelt moments abounded as the Basundhara family welcomed her like a long-lost daughter.
The orphanage had arranged an array of cultural programmes, musical performances and interactive sessions to mark the occasion. Children presented handmade cards and performed traditional dances, creating a festive yet deeply personal atmosphere.

Sudhanya, visibly emotional, expressed her gratitude. “It feels surreal and overwhelming. This is the place that gave me a beginning. To return on such a special day is beyond words,” she said, her voice breaking as she hugged the children and staff.
Shaila Behera, founder-member of Basundhara, said the reunion was equally special for them. “Sudhanya was overwhelmed to witness the celebration on her arrival. She was in tears witnessing such a grand welcome and anniversary arrangements. For us, seeing her return as a confident, accomplished woman fills our hearts with pride,” Behera said. “I recognised her as she was brought here when she was just 10 months old. It’s an incredible journey and the joy can’t be expressed in words,” added Behera.

Dignitaries, including doctors, child welfare committee members and the district child protection officer, attended the celebration and blessed the couple. Many called it a “circle of love” moment — where a child once nurtured returned as a successful woman to celebrate love, gratitude and belonging. For the children at Basundhara, the day was more than a celebration — it was a message of hope and possibility.

A disturbing case from Collem-Loliem, Canacona, has shocked South Goa after villagers lodged a complaint at the Canacona Police Station against a woman accused of illegally adopting and brutally assaulting a 4-year-old boy. The child, reportedly adopted without any legal procedure, was found with severe facial injuries, including deep cuts on the forehead and cheek. He was immediately rushed to Goa Medical College in Bambolim, where he is undergoing multiple surgeries. The incident has raised serious questions about child protection and adoption monitoring in the region. Villagers have also alleged a possible child trafficking link involving an agent from Karnataka, suspected of selling infants for lakhs of rupees. Police have begun an investigation into both the assault and the alleged trafficking network.

EFA advocates for an official and formal recognition by the French State, as the host country for the children, of its responsibility and negligence which have allowed illegal and irregular adoptions in matters of international adoption.

 

Recognition that the victims were waiting for

This recognition is eagerly awaited by the victims of these practices: first and foremost, adopted people, but also their biological and adoptive families. EFA emphasizes these three levels.

It must be documented by evidence provided by the results of investigations carried out by the countries of origin and by the adopted persons.

For EFA, this recognition should not be an indictment against international adoption, which remains today a protective measure that meets the interests of the child deprived of a family when it is not possible to find a satisfactory solution for him in his country of origin.

Many Indian children who have been placed for adoption by their birth parents have been and will be adopted by Indians in India. Some children will go to live In Europe. Others come to live in the United States. In 1996, 380 Indi­an-born children traveled to the United States to become the adopted sons and daughters of parents half a world away.

India remains a favorite among the coun­tries to adopt from as prospective adoptive parents begin to look for children. With greater availability of birth control and abor­tion, along with the acceptance by American society of single parenthood, the number of healthy infants available for adoption has di­minished. The well-publicized cases of Baby Richard and others have also made many prospective adoptive parents wish to work in an arena without birth parents who might ask for their children back. Enter international adoption, for some an ideal way to a healthy child.

For Chris Futia, 40, and her husband Carl, 49, of New Jersey, India was the country of choice. Chris, a marketing support systems manager for Nabisco, was an exchange stu­dent for a year in India. Her experiences there profoundly affected her, she says, and when she and Carl encountered difficulties trying to have biological children together, India was where she wanted to turn.

The 82-year-old former chairwoman of the Belgian non-profit organization "Hacer Puente" will be tried for thirteen child abductions in Guatemala in the 1980s. The Mons court ruled this.

Published: 6 hours ago

The non-profit organization "Hacer Puente" arranged the adoption of over 150 children from the Latin American country by Belgian couples between 1985 and 1992, but in at least some of those cases the biological parents would never have voluntarily given up their children.

The High Court of Judicature at Madras, in a significant ruling, has held that the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, (JJ Act) do not apply to adoptions validly conducted under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, (HAM Act). In a judgment delivered on October 25, 2025, Justice To Read More Please Subscribe to VIP Membership for Unlimited Access to All the Articles, Download Available Copies of Judgments/Order, Acess to Central/State Bare Acts, Advertisement Free Content, Access to More than 4000 Legal Drafts( Readymade Editable Formats of Suits, Petitions, Writs, Legal Notices, Divorce Petitions, 138 Notices, Bail Applications etc.) in Hindi and English.

"I didn't do anything wrong," she maintains to this day. But according to the presiding judge in Mons, there's ample evidence that Michèle H., now 82, from Tournai, kidnapped at least 14 children from Guatemala and trafficked them to unsuspecting adoptive families in Belgium. "It turns out my biological mother isn't my mother, but the mother of another kidnapped adopted child who now lives in Belgium. But who am I then?" asks Eva Langenus (41).

Bjorn Maeckelbergh

October 30, 2025, 10:00 AM Last update: 10:12 AM

I currently don't know where I was born, nor when. Actually, I know nothing. Except that black-and-white photo of the woman in my file is definitely fake. (hesitantly) I've cherished that image for years. But she's not my mother.

The South African Human Rights Commission has launched an investigation into possible discrimination against homosexuals by South African adoption agencies, including Abba Adoptions, which collaborates with the Dutch adoption agency Wereldkinderen. The D66 party has since submitted parliamentary questions to State Secretary Fred Teeven of Security and Justice.

The South African Human Rights Commission has launched its investigation into adoption agencies based on complaints from potential adoptive parents and adoption agencies in South Africa, the United States, and Europe. Among these complaints are complaints from the Netherlands, as one of the agencies being investigated is Abba Adoptions, which collaborates with the Dutch adoption agency Wereldkinderen.

The international complainants allege that adoption agencies discriminate against single people, same-sex adoptive parents, and non-Christian adoptive parents in international adoptions. Two European same-sex couples have filed a complaint against Abba Adoptions, alleging that the agency excludes them based on their sexual orientation.

Abba Adoptions

Abba Adoptions requires that adoptive parents be Christian, heterosexual, and married for at least five years. Last November, the agency received notice from the Central Authority for International Adoptions of the Ministry of Social Development that its adoption policy needed to be amended because the criteria used for adoption were discriminatory. The Central Authority's guidelines prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, language, religion, disability, or financial means. These guidelines are based on South African anti-discrimination legislation and the Children's Act .