Child laundering
Encyclopedia
Child laundering is the stealing and selling of children to adopting parents under false pretenses. Often the adoption agency or adoption facilitator hides or falsifies the child's origin to make the child appear to be a legitimate orphan by manipulating birth certificate
s, intake records, or records regarding the deaths of the child's parents who might still be alive. These children are often taken against either their will or the will of their parents to be sold to foreign adopting parents who are given the false papers and false assurances as to the child's point of origin.
Adoption agencies may sometimes be unknowing or knowing participants in the transactions but most adoptions are facilitated by adoption agencies. This type of activity most often appears in international adoptions
and is a specific form of child trafficking
Birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth...
s, intake records, or records regarding the deaths of the child's parents who might still be alive. These children are often taken against either their will or the will of their parents to be sold to foreign adopting parents who are given the false papers and false assurances as to the child's point of origin.
Adoption agencies may sometimes be unknowing or knowing participants in the transactions but most adoptions are facilitated by adoption agencies. This type of activity most often appears in international adoptions
International adoption
International adoption is a type of adoption in which an individual or couple becomes the legal and permanent parents of a child that is a national of a different country...
and is a specific form of child trafficking
The term “child laundering” expresses the claim that the current intercountry adoption system frequently takes children illegally from birth parents, and then uses the official processes of the adoption and legal systems to “launder” them as “legally” adopted children. Thus, the adoption system treats children in a manner analogous to a criminal organization engaged in money launderingMoney launderingMoney laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, which obtains funds illegally but then “launders” them through a legitimate business.