MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian...

Kolesnikov said foreign adoption agencies in Russia charged between $15,000 and $80,000, whereas part of the funds was paid to Russian officials. He said adoption mediators should be held accountable under the law and regretted an article on punishment for child trade had been deleted from the penal code and it was difficult to prove guilt under current legislation.

"There are a lot of mediators now, but there is no accountability for mediation," he told the Duma.

The official acknowledged there were no official statistics on adopted children in Russia, except for outrageous cases of child deaths. Kolesnikov said 15 Russian children, including 14 in the United States, had died in foreign foster families over the last decade.

He suggested foreigners wanting to adopt Russian children should undergo a psychiatric examination and independent adoption organizations be banned in Russia.

Fursenko backed the latter proposal, saying foreign residents must be allowed

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