In Romania, prosecutors from the Organized Crime and Terrorism Investigation Department (DIICOT) are conducting a search at the home of ultra-right pro-Russian politician Călin Georgescu. This was reported by media outlet Digi24, citing unnamed sources in the judiciary.
Georgescu was detained in Otopeni as he was heading to a sports facility. The searches began on the morning of September 21 at the politician's house in Mogoșoaia, Ilfov County. According to sources, he was stopped in his car and brought home so that investigative actions could be carried out in his presence. After this, the former candidate for president of Romania in the 2024 elections is to be brought in for questioning.
What Georgescu is suspected of
This concerns a criminal case in which fraud with damages amounting to 1.1 million euros is being investigated. According to DIICOT prosecutors, the investigation concerns the possible formation of a criminal organization and fraud with particularly serious consequences. Searches are being conducted at five addresses in Mogoșoaia, Choltpani, Buftea, and Bucharest.
According to the investigation, in September 2021, two Romanian citizens, including Georgescu, and an Italian citizen allegedly created an organized criminal group for the purpose of obtaining property gain. Georgescu allegedly assigned clear roles to other participants, presenting them as wealthy businessmen—heads of foreign companies that allegedly had significant funds to provide loans to victims who planned to develop businesses in Romania in exchange for depositing money as collateral.
In this way, they allegedly deceived Romanian businessmen about the possibility of obtaining financing from foreign banks. The goal of the group, according to prosecutors, was to obtain monetary guarantees that the victims deposited to arrange loans.
The story of the businessman waiting for money back for three years
Digi24 writes that it first reported on this case in December 2024. The media, citing a criminal complaint statement, reported that businessman Rezvan Leu paid a guarantee to obtain a loan of 6 million euros from a bank in Switzerland.
At the end of 2021, the businessman allegedly transferred 1 million euros as the required guarantee. After several meetings with people whom the entrepreneur was introduced to by Georgescu, as well as email exchanges with the Swiss bank, he began demanding the return of his money.
In 2022, Georgescu and his associates allegedly promised Leu to return the funds through another Swiss company. This did not happen. A year later, in 2023, Georgescu allegedly again promised the businessman to return the money—this time after receiving funds collected for the election campaign for the 2024 presidential election.
Political context of the case
A potential rise to power by Georgescu in Romania could pose a risk to Ukraine due to his statements about ending military aid and his critical attitude toward support for Kyiv.
- In November 2024, the first round of presidential elections took place in Romania. The second round, which was to take place on December 8, was to involve Georgescu and pro-European Lasconi.
- However, in December, Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense declassified documents from the intelligence services, which testify, in particular, to Russian interference in favor of Georgescu. Following this, the results of the first round of voting were annulled and a repeat vote was scheduled.
- On March 9, 2025, Romania's Central Electoral Commission banned Georgescu from participating in the repeat presidential elections.
Currently, Georgescu has not been officially charged in court—the searches and interrogation are part of a pre-trial investigation. Whether this case will lead to a trial and how it will affect the further political activity of the former candidate will become clear after the completion of the DIICOT investigative actions.
