Organs and investigation: "black transplant surgeon" Wolfman pleaded not guilty in court

On July 21, the Basmanny Court of Moscow began considering the case of Israeli citizen Boris Wolfman, who is accused of participating in an international illegal organ transplant scheme. According to investigators, in 2006-2008, on his instructions, at the Kosovo Medicus clinic, three Russian citizens had healthy kidneys removed, which were then transplanted to foreign patients for €80 thousand. Wolfman himself pleads not guilty. At the first hearing, he pleaded not guilty, and also asked for a reduced measure of restraint. Details of the hearing can be found in the Izvestia article.

Hearts and smiles

Wolfman's relative and girlfriend Zoya, who introduced herself as a family friend, came to the court session. Both women entered the courtroom and saw the defendant, waved at him affably, and he blew a kiss in response. Answering the judge's questions a minute later, Wolfman explained in good Russian, with almost no accent, that he was a manager, registered in Israel, and had been involved in importing before his arrest. The defendant did not specify which one.

Boris Wolfman

Photo: IZVESTIA/Anna Prokurina

Wolfman's lawyer asked for his client to be released from jail under house arrest, explaining that the defendant suffers from chronic illnesses, and one of his children is currently ill. The prosecutor immediately objected, reminding the court that the defendant was a foreign citizen and had been wanted for ten years.

While the judge was in the conference room deciding on the measure of restraint, Wolfman sent hearts to his friends and winked cheerfully at them, after which he suddenly turned to journalists, categorically declaring his innocence.

— Or maybe it's better to paint you as a terrible bloody maniac? There will be more authority in the pre—trial detention center," his lawyer Vyacheslav Dolzhenkov joked in response. The defendant did not react to the joke in any way.

Ten minutes later, the judge resumed the hearing and retained Wolfman's previous measure of restraint, granting only a request for the admission of a public defender.

What is Wolfman accused of?

After that, the prosecutor read out dozens of sheets of the indictment for several hours. According to the case file, in 2006-2008, Wolfman, an Israeli citizen, was part of an international criminal group of transplant surgeons. Its participants were looking for people who were in a difficult financial situation, and offered them to become donors, promising to pay € 8-15 thousand for the organ.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Anna Selina

Convincing people of the safety of surgical procedures, Wolfman, according to the investigation, organized the transportation of donors to the Medicus urological clinic located in the capital of Kosovo, Pristina, where the operations were performed. Three Russian citizens were among the patients. According to the case file, healthy kidneys were removed from them, which were then transplanted to foreign recipients. Each new organ holder paid €80 thousand.

The prosecution believes that the defendant personally negotiated with donors, provided them with false documents, including medical documents, for unhindered border crossing. According to the investigation, as a result of the loss of vital organs, serious harm was caused to the health of the victims, in addition, they did not receive the promised money in full.

It follows from the case file that, as part of the investigation, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office received responses from law enforcement agencies in Israel, Serbia and Germany. For example, the German Ministry of Justice announced the cost of a kidney transplant operation withdrawn from a Russian citizen. In 2015, Wolfman was put on the international wanted list, and ten years later he was deported from Turkey to Russia. He now faces up to 15 years in prison.

Complex qualification of the crime

Nver Gasparyan, Vice President of the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of Russia, explained that there is no separate article in Russian legislation for the illegal seizure of organo B. Therefore, participants in such schemes are usually charged with other crimes: coercion to remove organs or tissues for transplantation, human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal, as well as Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on causing serious harm to health for the purpose of using human organs or tissues.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Polina Violet

Lawyer Alexander Karavaev noted that such crimes are extremely rare. Therefore, depending on the circumstances of the case, the actions of the person involved may also qualify as causing harm to health, illegal medical activity or fraud.

The difference between legal and illegal transplantation is not only legal, but also ethical, explained Aram Muradov, a lawyer at the Minushkina and Partners Bar Association. In a legitimate procedure, the donor gives voluntary and informed written consent, and the operation itself is carried out free of charge — the purchase and sale of organs is prohibited and contradicts the basic principles of medical ethics. In addition, such interventions are performed only in licensed medical institutions in compliance with all necessary regulations.

— The illegal scheme, as in the Wolfman case, is arranged differently: the organizers use deception, pressure and the vulnerable position of people. Healthy organs become the subject of trade, and intermediaries and participants in the criminal scheme receive profits. At the same time, operations are performed bypassing the law, outside the medical control system," said Aram Muradov.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

The trial of Boris Wolfman may become one of the few in Russia dealing with an international scheme of illegal organ transplantation. Now the court will have to evaluate not only the role of the accused himself, but also the evidence gathered by the investigation about the activities of the alleged criminal group.