Romanian court extends Calin Georgescu's pre-trial detention by 30 days in €1.1m fraud case
The Bucharest Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling that had moved the pro-Russian politician to house arrest, keeping him in custody until 27 November.
Romania's Bucharest Court of Appeal extended the pre-trial detention of far-right politician Calin Georgescu by 30 days on Wednesday, overturning an October 13 ruling by a lower court that had ordered his transfer to house arrest.
Prosecutors allege that Georgescu and two other suspects defrauded a Romanian businessman of 1.1 million euros ($1.2m) by persuading him they could secure a credit line of up to 15 million euros ($16.7m) from a foreign financial institution. Georgescu denied any wrongdoing and claimed the investigations were "politically motivated".
Georgescu now remains in police custody with his detention set to run until 27 November.
Hundreds of his supporters protested at the Bucharest court building, with some entering the premises to demand his release. George Simion, leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians, said the original lower court ruling showed protesters were being heard.
Georgescu won the most votes in the first round of Romania's November 2024 presidential election, but that result and the second round were annulled following allegations of Russian interference — though Moscow denied interfering in the vote. He was subsequently barred from standing again. Pro-European centrist Nicusor Dan won the rerun election in May 2025.
A separate case accuses Georgescu of instigating violence after the ballot was annulled, disseminating false information, attempting to disrupt national security, and promoting 1930s fascist leaders.
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