Romanian influencer Makaveli detained in tax evasion probe over 3.3 million lei in undeclared social media income

The operation

Romanian police detained influencer Alexandru Zidaru, known online as Makaveli, on Thursday 11 June and brought him to the headquarters of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police for questioning. The action was carried out under Operation Jupiter, a nationwide initiative coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police. Officers from the Directorate for Investigating Economic Crime executed four arrest warrants in a criminal case registered at the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal.

The allegations

Prosecutors allege that Makaveli and three friends repeatedly concealed and failed to declare income generated from content creation on social media platforms. The total undeclared sum amounts to 3,324,147 lei, according to investigators. The resulting damage to the consolidated state budget is estimated at 574,000 lei. The four individuals are being investigated for continuous tax evasion and complicity in tax evasion. Judicial sources cited by Mediafax indicate the three other suspects are not public figures and are suspected of having been used to carry out financial operations through their accounts, allegedly for transferring and managing sums obtained from online activity.

“At this hour, within Operation Jupiter, under the coordination of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, police officers from the Directorate for Investigating Economic Crime are executing four arrest warrants issued for individuals under investigation in a criminal case registered at the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Tribunal.”

Who is Makaveli

Makaveli served as an adviser to Diana Șoșoacă, the leader of the far-right S.O.S. România party, and ran for mayor of Bucharest in the last local elections before withdrawing in favour of Anca Alexandrescu. He gained wider notoriety as one of the TikTok influencers who promoted independent presidential candidate Călin Georgescu during the 2024 election campaign, which was later annulled. According to HotNews.ro, Makaveli appeared in a declassified Romanian Intelligence Service document as part of a network of high-profile TikTok figures who backed Georgescu.

Broader context

Makaveli was previously summoned to the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police in December 2024 in connection with the investigation into the illegal TikTok financing of Călin Georgescu's campaign. During that appearance, he used obscene language directed at the wife of Antena 3 CNN journalist Mihai Gâdea. Days later, on 20 December, he appeared alongside Diana Șoșoacă at Parliament, where the two caused a disturbance in the building's hallways, shouting at an Antena 3 CNN journalist.

Next steps

The case is currently in the criminal investigation phase. Authorities are informing the four individuals of the legal classification of the alleged acts, their procedural rights and obligations, and are examining the possibility of imposing precautionary measures on their assets to recover the estimated damage. All four individuals benefit from the presumption of innocence until a final court decision.