Former Presidential Candidate Georgescu Was Detained In Romania

He is suspected of fraud.

In Romania, Călin Georgescu—a former presidential candidate who won the first round of the 2024 election—has been detained on suspicion of fraud involving 1.1 million euros. At that time, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results due to suspicions of Russian interference. According to Romanian media reports, there is also a Russian connection in the fraud case.

Georgescu was detained on the morning of Monday, September 21, while driving to a swimming pool, reports Antena3 CNN. The police took him to his home to conduct a search there. In total, searches related to the Georgescu case are being conducted at five properties he owns.

According to a press release from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), in 2021, two Romanian citizens and one Italian formed a criminal group. They offered Romanian businessmen loans worth millions of euros, but a cash deposit was required as a condition. The victim first transferred 1 million euros to the fraudsters, hoping to receive a 6 million euro loan, and then another 100,000 euros when they offered to increase the loan amount to 15 million, reports BBC.

DIICOT has not disclosed the names of the suspects or the victim, noting that the ringleader was a 64-year-old Romanian. According to local media reports, in addition to Georgescu, those implicated in the case include 47-year-old Romanian businessman Ionel Rousen and 56-year-old Italian Massimiliano Arena. The victim is Romanian businessman Razvan Leu.

As reported by G4Media and Euronews Romania, during the searches, police found a signal-jamming device and a forged Maltese Order ID card in the name of “Senator” Calin Georgescu. Roberto Musnechi, the Order of Malta’s ambassador to Romania, told G4Media that Georgescu is not a member of the Order.

According to sources cited by G4Media and Digi24, Migom Bank—a bank registered in Dominica that was formally owned by Swiss citizen Thomas Sketi but controlled by Russian citizens—is involved in the case. It was to this bank that Leu transferred 1.1 million euros. Specifically, Digi24 reports that Sketti was linked to Russian businessman Andrei Kochetkov.

Leu issued a statement confirming that in January 2024 he filed a criminal complaint, which formed the basis of the DIICOT investigation. “I did this for one reason: I lost over a million euros that I had earned through hard work because of funding promises that never materialized. For several years, I tried to recover the money amicably, but was unsuccessful,” he said.

The businessman emphasized that he had no political motives. “Like me, millions of Romanians—as you’ve seen—trusted Calin Georgescu. I fully trusted Calin Georgescu and his words. Unfortunately, it all turned out to be a fraudulent scheme, a scam,” Leu added.

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