Thu | Sep 25, 2025

Romania detains six on suspicion of plotting a coup in collusion with Russia

Published:Thursday | March 6, 2025 | 8:49 AM
Supporters of Calin Georgescu, the winner of Romania's first round of presidential election, annulled by the Constitutional Court, wave the Romanian flag after Calin Georgescu was stopped in traffic and taken in for questioning, outside the General Prosecu
Supporters of Calin Georgescu, the winner of Romania's first round of presidential election, annulled by the Constitutional Court, wave the Romanian flag after Calin Georgescu was stopped in traffic and taken in for questioning, outside the General Prosecutor's Office, in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, February 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Six people suspected of colluding with Russia to plot a coup against the Romanian government have been detained, according to police in the European Union and NATO-member country.

Romania's anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, detained all six on Wednesday for forming a criminal group, which was initially set up in 2023 and had links to Russia.

Police said the group was formed to allegedly undermine the "sovereignty and independence" of the Romanian state by "politically undermining the country's defence capacity."

Investigations supported by Romanian intelligence services revealed that the group allegedly sought "the removal of the current constitutional order, the dissolution of political parties," and the installation of a new government formed by its members, police said.

"In order to achieve their destabilising objectives, representatives of the group actively requested support from officers within the Embassy of the Russian Federation," said Romania's domestic intelligence agency, the SRI.

The group had "a military-type structure" that aimed to negotiate withdrawal from NATO, which Romania joined in 2004, as well as the adoption of a new Constitution, country name, flag and anthem, police said.

"The members of the criminal group would have repeatedly contacted agents of a foreign power, located both on the territory of Romania and the Russian Federation," police said.

Two of the suspects allegedly travelled to Moscow in January this year, where police allege they had contact with individuals who supported the organisation's "efforts to take over state power in Romania," police added.

On Wednesday, authorities raided eight homes in the municipality of Bucharest and the counties of Ilfov, Giurgiu, and Maramures, which police said yielded "several pieces of evidence" that were seized.

The raids came the same day Romania expelled two military diplomats from the Russian embassy in Bucharest as tensions soar between Moscow and Bucharest.

Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision related to Russia's military, air and naval attaché, Victor Makovskiy, and his deputy, Evgeni Ignatiev, over alleged "activities that contravene the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961." The ministry did not provide further details.

"The two Russian diplomats carried out intelligence-gathering actions in areas of strategic interest and took actions to support the group's anti-constitutional actions," the SRI added in its statement Thursday. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

On Wednesday, the Russian embassy described the expulsions as "unfounded and unfriendly" and said the embassy "reserves the right to take retaliatory measures."

Russian state news agency TASS on Tuesday reported claims from Russia's SVR foreign intelligence agency that the EU was seeking to interfere in Romania's upcoming presidential election. The SVR said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had asked Bucharest to bar Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in last year's cancelled election, from participating in the rerun in May.

Georgescu has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past as "a man who loves his country" and called Ukraine "an invented state," but he claims not to be pro-Russian.

The Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the election two days before the December 8 runoff after Georgescu's surprise first-round win. The far-right populist had polled in single digits and declared zero campaign spending, after which allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged. Moscow has denied interfering in the Romanian election process.

The first round of the rerun of the election is scheduled for May 4. If no candidate gets more than 50 per cent of ballots, a runoff will follow on May 18.

It isn't yet clear whether Georgescu will be able to participate in the new election.

Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.