Romanian prosecutors search 30 homes in probe of 47 suspects over EV charging fraud

What investigators allege

Prosecutors attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, working with the Bucharest police cybercrime service, carried out 30 domiciliary searches on Monday, 9 November 2026. The 47 people under investigation are suspected of theft and computer fraud. Investigators say they used the mobile app of the charging operator PPC Blue to draw electricity for their electric cars without paying. The case forms part of a national operation called 'Jupiter 6', run by the High Court prosecutors and the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police. Stirile ProTV reported that dozens of raids took place across the country, and said the probe began after a charging company noticed that many customers who had charged their vehicles had not paid.

How the scheme allegedly worked

The suspects allegedly exploited a weakness in the app that let a new charging session start within 24 hours of the first one, without a fresh bank authorisation. In the first session, a very small transaction was approved and then cancelled almost at once. A second session followed, in which large amounts of electricity were drawn without the payment being processed. To run the scheme, the suspects allegedly created 1,114 user accounts using temporary email addresses, false personal details and fake personal numeric codes, linked to virtual bank cards issued by financial providers outside Romania. Prosecutors say those accounts were used for 1,114 charging sessions at PPC Blue stations across Romania without payment for the services.

Scale of the damage

The prosecutors' estimate of the loss is 158,355 lei, a figure carried by Digi24, while Mediafax gave it as 158,355.31 lei. Ziare.com rounded the loss to about 160,000 lei. Stirile ProTV reported a different measure, damage of more than 30,000 euros over the last four months, and its reporting does not reconcile that figure with the prosecutors' period or currency. The number of accounts is given as more than 1,100 by several outlets, and the 1,114 figure is the one in the prosecutors' statement. Stirile ProTV also described almost 50 suspects giving explanations at the Bucharest police cybercrime service, while the official count is 47.

The WhatsApp resale network

Investigators say some suspects generated the vulnerable accounts and then passed them on to other electric car owners. According to Mediafax, those accounts were offered for sums below the operator's official tariffs. G4Media reported that orders and coordination ran through WhatsApp groups, and that payments were made through money transfer apps. The people who set up the accounts are alleged to have made them available so that other drivers could charge several cars.

Searches and next steps

The searches on Monday were aimed at seizing digital evidence and material items needed to prove the full scope of the alleged activity, according to the prosecutors' statement as reported by G4Media. The case remains at the criminal investigation stage, and no court has ruled on the allegations. Investigators have not publicly named the suspects.