Court keeps Georgescu in custody

A Romanian court has extended the pre-trial detention of Calin Georgescu by 30 days, keeping the far-right politician in police custody until November 27. The Bucharest Court of Appeal issued this decision on Wednesday, overturning an earlier ruling from October 13. That lower court order had temporarily moved Georgescu from police custody to house arrest while prosecutors continued their investigation.

Prosecutors allege that Georgescu and two other suspects defrauded a Romanian businessman of 1.1 million euros. The suspects reportedly convinced the victim to hand over the money by promising they could secure a credit line of up to 15 million euros from a foreign financial institution. The fraud probe remains active as the detention order stands.

Georgescu has denied any wrongdoing in the case. He has described the ongoing investigations as politically motivated. His supporters staged protests against the investigation, with media reports indicating that groups entered the Bucharest court building on Wednesday to demand his release.

George Simion, leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians, commented on the procedural shifts. Simion stated that the lower court's initial ruling demonstrated that protesters were being heard. Other far-right politicians have also voiced their support for Georgescu, pledging to stand by him amid the country's political uncertainty.

Georgescu was the leading candidate in Romania's 2024 presidential election. He won the most votes in the first round in November 2024, but the results and the second round were scrapped following allegations of Russian interference. Moscow denied interfering in the vote. Georgescu was subsequently barred from standing again, and the rerun election in May 2025 was won by pro-European centrist Nicusor Dan.

In a separate legal matter, prosecutors have accused Georgescu of instigating violence after the ballot was annulled. They also charged him with disseminating false information, attempting to disrupt national security, and promoting 1930s fascist leaders. This month, Parliament approved a government proposed by pro-European Luca Niculescu, making him prime minister after months of deadlock that followed the collapse of the previous coalition in May.