Romanian court arrests campaign financier Georgescu

Bucharest District Court on Friday, March 21, placed Bogdan Peshkir, financier of the election campaign of Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, under pre-trial arrest for 30 days.

"The Prosecutor General's Office accuses Peshkir of committing a crime related to the bribery of voters using electronic means of communication," the Adeges agency said in a statement.

In particular, according to prosecutors, during the election campaign, Peshkir offered potential voters payments of more than $879,000 through the TikTok app in the form of "gifts", and also promised transfers of hundreds of thousands of lei through the Revolut app to convince 265 people to vote for Georgescu.

Prosecutors found conversations on Peshkir's phone that he conducted with several influencers, discussing various strategies and payment methods to encourage people to vote for Georgescu, the agency said.

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On March 9, the electoral authority refused to register opposition politician Calin Georgescu as a candidate, deciding that the documents submitted by him did not comply with the requirements of the law. Later, on March 11, the Constitutional Court of Romania upheld the CEC's decision rejecting Georgescu's registration for the presidential election. The opposition leader himself called this step a blow to democracy.

The first round of the Romanian presidential election was held on November 24, 2024. According to official sources, Georgescu was in the lead with 22.94% of the vote, but on November 28, the country's Constitutional Court demanded that the Central Election Commission recount the results. They were cancelled on December 6. Repeat elections will be held in Romania on May 4. The second round is scheduled for May 18.