Romanian prosecutors search properties in probe into illegal election funding

Romanian prosecutors searched several properties on Saturday in an investigation into possible illegal financing of the country’s presidential election, a day after the country’s top court annulled the vote following allegations of Russian interference, Reuters reported.

The court ruled on Friday that the election must be held again, plunging EU and NATO member Romania into institutional chaos and raising concerns about the erosion of public trust in the state.

Prosecutors did not name the candidate whose campaign was being investigated, but documents declassified by the National Security Council this week focused on the campaign of Calin Georgescu — a far-right, pro-Russian and NATO critic.

The declassified documents showed that the election process was marred by vote-rigging, campaign irregularities and opaque financing.

Prosecutors said on Saturday that three searches were carried out in the central city of Brasov.

According to a statement from prosecutors:

“The searches are aimed at the possible involvement of a person in the illegal financing of the election campaign of a candidate for the presidency of Romania, using funds… (that) may have come from committing crimes and then later be used in a money laundering operation.”

Russian state-run TASS news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Saturday:

“We are completely indifferent to what they are doing there, trying to justify their conspiracies.”

Calin Georgescu said on Friday that the court’s decision to annul the elections amounted to a “coup,” and urged electoral authorities to ignore the ruling, announcing that no money would be spent on the campaign.

Outgoing President Klaus Iohannis, who will remain in office until elections are held again, said on social media platform X that he had spoken to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

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