Bucharest Tribunal grants Călin Georgescu house arrest in EUR 1.1 mln fraud case, ruling subject to appeal

The Bucharest Tribunal approved on Tuesday, October 13, the request submitted by former presidential candidate Cǎlin Georgescu to replace pretrial detention with 30 days of house arrest. The ruling is not final and will take effect only if upheld following the appeal period, Agerpres reported.

Judicial sources cited by the news agency said Romania’s organized crime prosecution unit DIICOT plans to challenge the decision. Georgescu will remain at Bucharest’s Central Detention Center until the appeal is heard.

Under the court’s ruling, Cǎlin Georgescu would be required to appear whenever summoned by investigators or judges and periodically provide information about his sources of income. He would also be prohibited from contacting the alleged victim, the person’s relatives, witnesses, experts, or others allegedly involved in the offense.

“The request filed by defendant G.C. to replace the preventive measure was admitted, and pretrial detention was replaced with house arrest for 30 days, beginning when the ruling becomes final,” the tribunal said.

The decision can be appealed within 48 hours of its formal communication.

Cǎlin Georgescu has been held in pretrial detention since September 29 in a case in which prosecutors accuse him of participating in an alleged scheme that defrauded businessman Răzvan Leu of EUR 1.1 million.

According to case documents, Leu was invited to participate in a precious-metals trading venture that purportedly required a EUR 6 million credit line. Georgescu allegedly directed him to Ionel Rusen, who introduced him to an Italian citizen, presented as the representative of a Swiss bank.

The prosecutors allege Răzvan Leu was asked to provide a EUR 1 million guarantee, of which EUR 100,000 was intended to finance Georgescu’s presidential campaign. He was later persuaded to transfer another EUR 100,000 after being told the loan could be increased to EUR 15 million.

The financing never materialized, investigators said, and Leu was allegedly unable to recover the EUR 1.1 million.

The investigation is the third criminal case involving Cǎlin Georgescu. In the other two, he faces charges related to alleged attempts to undermine the constitutional order and the promotion of fascist or legionary propaganda.

Cǎlin Georgescu was the surprise first-place finisher in the first round of Romania’s 2024 presidential election, which