Former Romanian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu has been detained for 24 hours as part of a new organised-crime and fraud investigation involving an alleged €1.1 million financial scheme, with investigators also discovering a fake diplomatic identification card purporting to have been issued by the Order of Malta.
Georgescu was taken into custody on Monday after prosecutors from Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT, carried out searches at several properties, including his residence in Mogoșoaia.
Prosecutors said the investigation concerns an alleged organised criminal group and aggravated fraud committed on a continuing basis. Georgescu and another suspect were detained for 24 hours and are due to be brought before the Bucharest Tribunal on Tuesday, when prosecutors will seek their remand in pre-trial detention for 30 days.
According to investigators, the alleged scheme dates back to September 2021 and involved three people — two Romanian citizens and an Italian national — who allegedly presented themselves or their associates as having access to substantial financing from foreign financial institutions.
Prosecutors allege that a Romanian businessman was led to believe that he could obtain a €6 million credit facility from a foreign bank if he first provided a financial guarantee. He subsequently transferred more than €1 million.
Investigators say the businessman was later told that the financing could be increased to €15 million if he provided a further guarantee of €100,000. The promised financing allegedly never materialised, leaving the businessman with losses of more than €1.1 million.
Fake Order of Malta diplomatic ID discovered
Investigators searching Georgescu’s residence also discovered a fake diplomatic identification card bearing his photograph and name.
The document carries the heading “DIPLOMATIC ID” and refers to the “Order of Malta, Sovereign Order Hospitalliers of Saint John of Jerusalem”, and it identifies Georgescu as a “senator”.
The Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Romania subsequently confirmed that Georgescu is not a member of the Order and that no such identification document had ever been issued to him.
The Order also warned that a number of imitation organisations operating in Romania have previously made unauthorised use of its symbols.
Romanian media have reported that other purported diplomatic documents were also discovered during the searches.
Investigators also found a jamming device in Georgescu’s vehicle which could be used to interfere with the recording or interception of conversations.
Romanian press report here. Footage here.
Third criminal case
The latest investigation adds to two separate criminal cases already facing Georgescu.
Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round of Romania’s presidential election in November 2024. The Constitutional Court subsequently annulled the election after concluding that the electoral process had been affected by serious irregularities including the financing by Russia of his campaign and Georgescu’s connections with Russian military officials.
When Georgescu attempted to stand in the rerun presidential election in May 2025, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau rejected his candidacy. The Constitutional Court unanimously upheld that decision in March 2025, making the exclusion final.
Separately, Georgescu is now facing trial alongside mercenary Horațiu Potra and members of Potra’s group.
Romanian prosecutors argue that Georgescu and Potra discussed a plan under which individuals with military or paramilitary experience would infiltrate demonstrations in Bucharest and provoke violent disorder. Georgescu has been sent to trial on charges including complicity in an attempted action against the constitutional order and communicating false information. The allegations remain to be determined by the courts.
He is also facing a separate trial concerning allegations that he publicly promoted fascist and Legionary ideology and figures associated with Romania’s interwar far-right movement.
Georgescu has previously denied wrongdoing in the cases against him and has portrayed the proceedings as politically motivated.
Following Monday’s questioning, prosecutors ordered Georgescu detained for 24 hours. He was subsequently seen leaving DIICOT headquarters in handcuffs before being taken into police custody.
A Bucharest court is expected to decide on Tuesday whether he should remain in preventive detention for 30 days, be placed under another form of judicial restriction, or be investigated without detention.
Newsroom
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