Key facts
- Prosecutors said Georgescu managed an organized crime group behind the €1.1 million payment.
- Prosecutors said the businessman was told the group could help him obtain a credit line of up to €15 million from a foreign financial institution.
- Cristela Georgescu, his wife, denied the charges in posts on his Facebook account and called them politically motivated.
- Georgescu is already on trial in two separate cases and has denied wrongdoing in both.
Romanian prosecutors said on November 12, 2026, that they had indicted Calin Georgescu, the former frontrunner in the country's 2024 canceled presidential election, on charges of orchestrating a €1.1 million ($1.2 million) fraud scheme.
Prosecutors said Georgescu managed an organized crime group that prompted a Romanian businessman to give them €1.1 million by making him believe they could help him get a credit line of up to €15 million from a foreign financial institution.
Georgescu has been in pretrial detention since late September 2026. In posts on Georgescu's Facebook account, his wife, Cristela Georgescu, denied the charges and said they were politically motivated.
Romania canceled its presidential election in December 2024 on account of suspected Russian interference in favor of Georgescu, a critic of NATO, Brussels and Western support for Ukraine. Moscow denied the accusations of meddling in the election. The ballot was re-run in May 2025, and Nicusor Dan won it to become president.
Georgescu, who was banned from running again but remains popular, is already on trial in two separate cases, one on charges of attempting to disrupt national security after the election was canceled, the other on charges of promoting Romania's 1930s fascist leaders, which is illegal. He has denied wrongdoing in both cases.