Former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu will remain in pretrial detention after the Bucharest Court of Appeal upheld an appeal filed by organized crime prosecutors on Friday, October 23. The ruling is final, according to news agency Agerpres.
The two judges initially assigned to the case disagreed, requiring a third magistrate to join the panel. The deciding vote favored keeping Georgescu in custody.
The court “fully overturns the challenged ruling” and rejects as unfounded Călin Georgescu’s request to replace pretrial detention with house arrest, according to its decision, as quoted by the media.
Around 500 of Georgescu’s supporters gathered outside the court during the hearing and blocked traffic on Splaiul Independenței in downtown Bucharest.
On October 13, the Bucharest Tribunal judge approved the former presidential candidate’s transfer to house arrest. DIICOT challenged the decision before it could take effect.
The lower court had reportedly cited Georgescu’s personal circumstances, including his lack of a criminal record, stable residence, marriage, and two minor children. The judge also noted that he had complied with previous judicial supervision requirements and had responded to summonses after returning from abroad.
Cǎlin Georgescu has been in pretrial detention since September 29. He is accused of defrauding businessman Răzvan Leu of EUR 1.1 million in connection with a proposed precious-metals transaction.
According to case documents, Leu was asked to provide an initial EUR 1 million guarantee to obtain a EUR 6 million credit line. Prosecutors allege that EUR 100,000 of the amount was intended to finance Georgescu’s presidential campaign.
The businessman was later persuaded to transfer another EUR 100,000 after being told the credit line could be increased to EUR 15 million. The loan was never obtained, and the businessman allegedly did not recover the EUR 1.1 million.
Cǎlin Georgescu was the surprise first-place finisher in the first round of Romania’s 2024 presidential election, which was annulled by the Constitutional Court.