The appeal ruling reverses an October 13 house-arrest order and keeps the former presidential frontrunner in police custody until November 27 while prosecutors investigate.
Romania’s Bucharest Court of Appeal extended former presidential frontrunner Călin Georgescu’s pre-trial detention by 30 days on October 28, Al Jazeera said. The ruling keeps him in police custody during an investigation into an alleged €1.1 million fraud.
The appeal court overturned an October 13 lower-court order that would have moved Georgescu from police custody to house arrest for 30 days pending the investigation.
Prosecutors said Georgescu and two other suspects persuaded a Romanian businessman to give them €1.1 million by making him believe they could help him obtain a credit line of up to €15 million from a foreign financial institution. A credit line allows a borrower to draw funds up to an agreed limit.
Georgescu denied wrongdoing and said the investigations were “politically motivated”.
Georgescu received the most votes in the first round of Romania’s presidential election in November 2024. The results and the second round were scrapped following allegations of Russian interference, which Russia denied. Georgescu was then barred from standing again, and pro-European centrist Nicușor Dan won the rerun in May 2025.
In another case, prosecutors accused Georgescu of instigating violence after the election was annulled, disseminating false information, attempting to disrupt national security and promoting 1930s fascist leaders.
Al Jazeera, citing media reports, said hundreds of Georgescu’s supporters protested against the investigation and groups entered the Bucharest court building on October 28 to demand his release. George Simion, leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians, said the earlier house-arrest ruling showed protesters were being heard.
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Following the appeal decision, Georgescu’s detention in police custody is set to run until November 27 while the fraud investigation continues.
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