Foreign woman detained for organ trafficking in Kazakhstan: what the court decided

Tengrinews.kz – A court in Pavlodar has handed down a verdict to a foreign national who tried to sell her own kidney. Immediately after the ruling was announced, the woman was released from the courtroom.
The 37-year-old resident of Kaluga was charged under Part 3 of Article 24 and Part 1 of Article 116, “Attempted unlawful removal of human organs and tissues.” According to the Judicial Cabinet electronic portal, the Russian citizen began looking for a buyer for her kidney back in late 2024. She regularly browsed various websites dealing with the sale of organs.
In July last year she found an advertisement in Telegram seeking a donor and agreed to sell her kidney for 50,000 dollars. Under the terms of the deal, the transplant was to take place in Pavlodar.
According to the criminal case file, the supposed buyer with whom the Russian woman was corresponding in Telegram turned out to be a person simulating criminal activity as part of an operational measure by law enforcement.
According to the case materials, the buyer she was messaging with in Telegram turned out to be an undercover operative acting within police operations.
In July last year the woman flew to Astana and then went on to Pavlodar, where she rented an apartment, underwent a medical examination and began waiting for the deal to be finalized.

“On July 17 the notional buyer, using the alias ‘T’, gave the defendant an advance of 5 million tenge for concluding the deal on the illegal removal of a kidney. With the exception of one 20,000-tenge banknote, the cash handed over was dummy money,” the Judicial Cabinet documents state.

Immediately after the money was handed over, the woman was detained.
Photo Polisia.kz
During the trial she entered into a procedural agreement with the prosecutor, fully admitting her guilt. The court took into account that the woman has minor children and that there were no aggravating circumstances.
Foreign woman detained in Kazakhstan for selling human organs
The court sentenced the foreign national to 10 months in a penal colony, but, taking into account the time she had already spent in custody, found the sentence served and ordered her release.
The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.