The children rights ombudsman for the Voronezh region in southern Russia said on Friday she would personally oversee all adoptions by foreigners.
Irina Popova’s reaction came in the wake of reports that a US adoption agency, Wide Horizons for Children Inc., has attempted to conceal a case where a US national who had previously adopted a child from the city of Voronezh placed him with another family.
“We will monitor every adoption by foreign citizens very closely,” Popova said, adding that there were 32 such adoptions last year.
Russian Children Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said that the US national in question could be prosecuted and forced to pay alimony.
The US former adoptive mother, only identified as Danielle D., adopted Denis, a Voronezh native, in 2011, but later became “disappointed” with him and decided to place him with a family of friends.