Romanian prosecutors on Wednesday detained Călin Georgescu, the far-right candidate in the country’s presidential elections, which are set to be re-run due to alleged Russian interference.
It comes as the country’s Prosecutor’s Office announced its criminal investigations section had carried out 47 searches on Wednesday morning, targeting 27 individuals and four premises connected to crimes including actions against the constitutional order.
It is not clear whether Georgescu was arrested or questioned voluntarily. While local media have reported an arrest warrant has been issued for him, Reuters stated he is not currently considered a suspect in the investigation, which also includes crimes related to electoral financing, supporting a fascist and antisemitic organization, and weapons and pyrotechnic article offenses.
Georgescu — who continues to poll as the country’s favorite candidate, although it is unclear whether he will be permitted to run again — was spoken to by police while driving on Wednesday morning and later went inside the Prosecutor’s Office, according to Romanian media reports.
These reports named Horațiu Potra — who runs the company providing Georgescu’s bodyguards — and Potra’s partner as particular subjects of interest who are believed to have links to senior figures in Moscow. The Prosecutor’s Office stressed that its interest in individuals should not undermine the principle of the presumption of innocence.
It follows Romania’s constitutional court last December making the unprecedented move of annulling the first round of the country’s presidential election following the declassification of intelligence showing Russian interference influenced the result.