Călin Georgescu and Ionel Rusen sent to trial over 1.1 million euro fraud

The indictment

The Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, known as DIICOT, has sent two defendants to trial in a fraud case with alleged losses of more than 1.1 million euros. The indictment is dated 11 November 2026, and the prosecutors' announcement became public on Thursday, 12 November. The defendants, aged 64 and 47, face charges of forming an organised criminal group and of continued fraud with particularly serious consequences. Both are held in preventive arrest. Prosecutors split the case from a third participant, an Italian citizen, who is being investigated separately. The two defendants are named in the coverage as Călin Georgescu, a former presidential candidate, and the businessman Ionel Rusen.

How prosecutors describe the group

According to prosecutors, the group was formed in September 2021 and operated until October 2023, mainly in Romania and also in the United Kingdom. Its targets were Romanian businesspeople who wanted access to foreign bank loans, and the group allegedly persuaded them that it could arrange that financing. Victims were asked to hand over cash guarantees, which the group allegedly intended to keep. The 64-year-old defendant is described as the leader who coordinated the whole operation and assigned roles to the other two members. Those two members were presented as prosperous businessmen and directors of foreign companies that supposedly had large sums available to lend.

Meetings and the London loan

Investigators say the meetings began in September 2021 in Bucharest and Câmpulung Muscel, and continued later in London. There, the group allegedly convinced the representative of a company that it could secure financing of 6 million euros. The loan was to be granted under a contract with a financial institution that the suspects claimed operated in the United Kingdom. Prosecutors say that institution was in fact headquartered in the Union of the Comoros in East Africa. The 47-year-old defendant and the Italian suspect allegedly told the victim that they held management positions at that bank. The guarantee was presented as a precondition for releasing the credit, and prosecutors say the group needed that payment to unlock the loan.

Status of the case

The indictment follows earlier DIICOT press releases dated 21 September, 24 September and 7 October 2026, according to the communiqué. Both defendants remain in preventive arrest while the case moves forward. The trial will take place at the Ilfov Tribunal. No court has yet ruled on the charges.