Romania’s presidential election front-runner Călin Georgescu has been taken in by police for questioning.
He has been accused of forming a fascist organisation, threatening the constitutional order and breaking electoral campaign finance rules, judicial sources told Romanian media.
Earlier on February 26, the police raided the homes of several people connected to Georgescu, on suspicion of initiating or setting up a fascist, racist, xenophobic organisation and joining or supporting such a group.
They were also accused of the “public promotion of the cult of people guilty of committing crimes of genocide or war crimes”.
Police targeted 27 individuals and four offices in a total of 47 searches.
Foreign interference or ties with Russia were, perhaps surprisingly given the claims that led to the cancellation of the first round of Romania’s presidential elections, not among the new accusations.
Officers from the Criminal Investigation Directorate, the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime, the Directorate for Arms, Explosives and Dangerous Substances, the Economic Crime Investigation Directorate and the Bucharest Police were all involved in the searches.
The police allegedly found a hidden safe with around $1 million (€950,000) in cash, plus weapons and ammunition in the home of Horatiu Potra, the Georgescu’s bodyguard.
Potra is a former member of the French Foreign Legion and had previously served as a military instructor and mercenary in Africa.
According to Romanian news outlet Digi 24, Potra was said to have close ties with those in the circles of power in Moscow. His partner also allegedly had links with Chechen soldiers.
Potra reportedly was not in Romania at the time of the raids but travelling abroad.
Georgescu’s communication team said Georgescu had been preparing to submit his candidacy for the new presidency election when the police apprehended him.
“Where is democracy now, where are the partners who should defend democracy?” they said following his detention.
After hearing the news, a group of his supporters gathered at the prosecutor’s office, protesting against what had happened.
They always label it “Russian Interference”. https://t.co/Li3czPrY2X
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) February 26, 2025
George Simion, leader of the hard-right AUR party and a supporter of Georgescu’s candidacy, said on TikTok this detention was “an abuse of the totalitarian State”.
Later on February 26, Romanian media reported that prosecutors had discovered evidence of “compromising” conversations and recordings involving Georgescu.
They were said to have included a phone call with Marian Motocu, who is the subject of an investigation for alleged hateful, anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
After the discussion with Georgescu, Motocu allegedly called the Russian Embassy and asked for contact with Colonel Evgheni Ignatiev, the deputy military attaché of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest and reportedly a GRU officer: Russia’s military intelligence agency known for its clandestine activities in Europe.
Reportedly, he had difficulties talking with the operator at the embassy and he was put on hold, after which it cut off his call.
In Romania’s 2024 presidential election, hard-right nationalist Georgescu unexpectedly won the first round on November 24 with 22.94 per cent of the vote, a result that was said to have been boosted by a TikTok campaign.
In an unprecedented and controversial move, the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the results on December 6, citing Russian interference favouring Georgescu, although evidence was contested.
New elections were set for May 2025, leaving Georgescu’s candidacy uncertain.
Latest polls have shown he was firmly in the lead, making any action against him potentially problematic.
Earlier in February, US Vice President JD Vance had criticised Romania’s decision to cancel the election late last year.
“Friendship is based on shared values,” Vance declared at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington on February 20.
“You do not have shared values if you cancel elections because you don’t like the result – and that happened in Romania.”
Romanian hard-right politician Călin Georgescu has said that Radu Pally, his election campaign manager, has been the target of searches by prosecutors and police. https://t.co/WUxMTO14mg
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 11, 2025
