Romania: ex-presidential candidate Călina Georgescu arrested on fraud charges

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Former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu was detained Monday on suspicion of fraud by Romanian police and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).

The ultranationalist politician shot to prominence when he unexpectedly won the first round of the November 2024 presidential election, snapping up 23% of the vote . But the Constitutional Court annulled the election in December that year and barred Georgescu from running again due to his campaign’s links to a Russian influence operation.

Romanian authorities are investigating Georgescu for committing fraud and forming an organized criminal group that prosecutors say defrauded a Romanian businessman by promising access to multimillion-euro foreign bank financing in exchange for cash guarantees.

“The perpetrators acted by misleading and deceiving a Romanian businessmen … the members of the organized crime group aimed to obtain the financial guarantees deposited by the victim to access the respective credits,” a DIICOT press release noted.

The group allegedly failed to deliver on its promises, and the victim lost “more than €1.1 million.”

The former presidential candidate is already facing two other criminal cases: one over allegedly acting against Romania’s constitutional order by planning a violent coup , and another over allegedly promoting fascist ideology.

Commenting on the earlier investigations, Georgescu protested his innocence and said the cases were “politically motivated.”

Several dozen supporters of Georgescu gathered Monday in front of the DIICOT headquarters, where he will be brought in for questioning, Romanian media reported.