Prosecutors send Bogdan Peșchir to trial over alleged voter bribery for Georgescu
Prosecutors accuse Brașov businessman Bogdan Peșchir of giving 265 voters gifts and crypto worth 957,842.23 dollars to back Călin Georgescu in the 2024 presidential race, according to figures cited from the file.
The indictment
Romanian prosecutors have sent Bogdan Peșchir, a Brașov businessman who posts as 'bogpr' on TikTok, to trial on 9 October 2026 over 874 material acts of voter bribery. The case concerns the 2024 presidential campaign of independent candidate Călin Georgescu, an election since annulled. The file grew from information made public after the Supreme Council of National Defence session of 28 November 2024. In December 2024, prosecutors searched Peșchir's home and company offices in Brașov and seized two phones.
- Peșchir first tries to contact Georgescu's official TikTok account
- First documented contact with campaign recruiter Areta Ildiko Totoliciu, 11 days before the first round
- Georgescu's official account accepts contact; the exchange covers bets on the result
- First round of the 2024 presidential election
- Supreme Council of National Defence session whose later publicised information started the case
- Prosecutors search Peșchir's home and company in Brașov and seize two phones
- End of the period covered by the 957,842.23 dollar figure
- Peșchir sent to trial on 874 counts of voter bribery
How the alleged scheme worked
Prosecutors describe three methods. Peșchir allegedly recruited high-profile TikTok influencers, paid them systematically and had them promote Georgescu during live streams. He allegedly sent gifts to voters who had declared a preference and to possible voters, so users came to believe a vote would bring gifts. He also allegedly made direct bank transfers to people open to voting for Georgescu. The platform mechanism works like this: users buy coins with real money, send gifts to creators during live streams, and creators can cash out, with the platform typically keeping around 50%.
A recording dated 24 November 2024, found on the phone of influencer Virgil-Alexandru Zidaru, is titled with the claim that TikTok Romania made the difference, according to documents seen by Mediafax. In it, Zidaru said:
Online is the fourth power in the state.
He said people had turned to the internet because Georgescu was not shown enough on television.
Money and payments
Totals differ across the sources. A document cited by Adevărul gives 957,842.23 dollars in benefits to 265 voters between 28 March 2024 and 31 January 2025: 918,681.92 dollars in TikTok gifts and 39,160.31 dollars in six crypto transfers. Ziare.com cites prosecutors with 290,225.90 dollars in gifts and crypto.
- Virtual gifts on TikTok
- 918681.92 dollars
- Crypto transfers (six)
- 39160.31 dollars
Investigators say 158 people received benefits tied to promoting Georgescu, while for 107 others the aim was to win their support. TikTok confirmed 381,000 dollars in payments by 'bogpr' to accounts involved in promoting the candidate between 24 October and 24 November 2024. Four influencers received more than 67,500 dollars combined, with Zidaru getting 30,723.72 dollars, according to TikTok data that Mediafax cites.
- Virgil-Alexandru Zidaru
- 30723.72 dollars
- Other influencer 1
- 18300.4 dollars
- Other influencer 2
- 17218.46 dollars
- Other influencer 3
- 1329.99 dollars
Contact with the campaign
Documents seen by Mediafax show Peșchir first contacted Georgescu's campaign on 13 November 2024, through Areta Ildiko Totoliciu, who recruited supporters, eleven days before the first round. He offered 'a few ideas and a lot of money' and proposed a TikTok account that would broadcast Georgescu content daily. On 23 November, Georgescu's official account accepted contact, and the exchange covered bets on the result. In the arrest report, an unidentified user accused Peșchir of paying influencers who only wanted money. Peșchir replied:
I have been following Călin Georgescu for years.
Denial and what comes next
Peșchir acknowledges the donations but denies that they were conditioned on support for the candidate. Judicial sources say prosecutors found his explanations did not justify the financial effort he made during the campaign. Georgescu declared 'zero costs' for his campaign at the time. The sources give no hearing date.
