russians circumvent EU sanctions through fake Romanian citizenship

An investigation by the Romanian authorities has uncovered a large-scale scheme involving fictitious addresses, forged documents and the participation of officials and intermediaries.

This was reported by prosecutors at the High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania, according to Digi24.

The investigation took place within the framework of two criminal proceedings concerning schemes to restore or grant Romanian citizenship on the basis of forged official documents.

According to the prosecutor's office, the case involves the creation of an organised criminal group, material and intellectual forgery of documents, computer falsification, use of forged documents, disclosure of non-public information and illegal access to information systems.

Searches were carried out at dozens of addresses, including the civil registry office of the sixth sector of Bucharest. The investigation also concerns several lawyers and civil servants who may have been involved in the scheme.

The investigation believes that Russian oligarchs were among the clients of the network that forged citizenship documents. The investigation is being coordinated by the Prosecutor General's Office, and prosecutors and police have seized a number of documents from both the civil registry office in the sixth sector and the National Authority for Citizenship. The collected materials are being analysed as part of a case that has been ongoing for several months.

According to the investigation, the network was created in 2022 by several Ukrainian citizens. They allegedly forged documents for russian citizens, in particular in the Republic of Moldova, falsely certifying Romanian origin and the right to restore citizenship. After that, with the assistance of lawyers or notaries, the forged documents were submitted to the Citizenship Office in Bucharest.

Subsequently, foreigners applied to the civil registry offices to obtain Romanian identity cards and passports, which gave them the right to move freely within the European Union.

During searches at one of the locations, law enforcement officers found hundreds of forged birth certificates.

Source: Suspilne