An investigation launched by the Romanian prosecutor’s office in 2024 uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme that allowed Russian citizens to illegally obtain Romanian citizenship and, accordingly, European Union passports. According to the investigation, the scheme operated from at least 2022 to 2024 and had a well-organized, transnational structure.
The basis for the fraud is the Romanian law on the restoration of citizenship, which applies to descendants of residents of the former Kingdom of Romania within the borders of 1918–1940. Today, the provisions of this law are widely used by citizens of Moldova and Ukraine. However, the investigation revealed that criminal groups were using this procedure to “supply” fictitious applicants from Russia on a massive scale. Particular attention was drawn to cases in which Russians used the personal data of deceased Ukrainian military personnel, whose identities were “appropriated” by applicants to create plausible biographies.
One of the episodes featured in the prosecutor’s office materials concerns a Russian citizen who was previously registered as an entrepreneur in St. Petersburg. His file contained a birth certificate for his “grandfather,” who was allegedly born in Chernivtsi in 1926. A check revealed that the document’s archive number belonged to a real person, a Ukrainian soldier who died in 2022. His personal data was used to create a fictitious family tree. Similar cases were found in at least 15 files.
In another case, a Russian woman obtained citizenship by presenting herself as a descendant of a Bessarabian resident. The investigation established that the “grandmother’s” birth certificate had been produced in 2023 on a form dating from the 1940s, and that the notarization had been carried out in the district of Iasi by a civil registry office employee, who was subsequently dismissed from his post and became a defendant in a criminal case.
Among the recipients of illegal documents were not only ordinary applicants, but also businessmen, large entrepreneurs, and individuals wanted in Russia. After receiving Romanian passports, some Russians used them to open companies in France, Italy, and Germany. In one case, a Russian citizen who had previously been involved in metal exports and was subject to restrictions in Russia registered a business in France and opened an account in a European bank after obtaining EU citizenship, without disclosing the Russian origin of the capital.
The central element of the Romanian “scheme” was fictitious registration of residence. According to the prosecutor’s office, in the city of Botosani alone, more than 120 people were “registered” at one address, most of whom had never entered Romania. The owner of the apartment was a pensioner who received about €3,000 for his assistance.
In Bucharest and Suceava, so-called “ghost addresses” were identified, i.e., uninhabited premises, garages, and even abandoned houses, where dozens of future EU citizens were listed in the documents. In total, the authorities identified about 1,700 such fictitious registrations in 2023–2024, but according to estimates by the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the actual number may exceed 7,000.
The investigation also revealed the role of professional intermediaries. One case involved a lawyer from Bucharest who, over a two-year period, handled more than 200 citizenship applications from Russian and Belarusian citizens. According to investigators, he coordinated the work of notaries, archivists, and translators, receiving up to €5,000 from each client.
A separate line of investigation concerns employees of the National Citizenship Agency. In 2024, two ANC officials were arrested on suspicion of expediting the processing of “problematic” files and ignoring obvious discrepancies in the documents. The investigation is examining whether these actions were the result of bribes or part of a wider corruption network.
The cost of the “service package” ranged from €15,000 to €40,000. At the same time, Russian-language social networks and messengers actively advertised “special offers” for “European citizenship” for as little as €4,000-7,000, which indicates the mass and commercial nature of the scheme. The agencies promised “full support,” fictitious registration in Romanian cities, and even “citizenship certificates” allegedly issued by Romanian consulates in Russia or Turkey.
The scale of the abuses uncovered indicates that these are not isolated incidents, but rather a systemic crisis of control. And while legal repatriation remains an important tool for restoring historical justice, the mass falsification of documents undermines not only Romania’s national legislation, but also the very architecture of European Union citizenship.
EU security experts note that the problem extends far beyond Romania alone. Illegal acquisition of EU passports provides access to the entire Schengen area, the Union’s financial system and markets, and at the same time sets a precedent for undermining the sanctions regime against Russia, creates risks of money laundering, and calls into question the reliability of the Union’s citizenship system. Calls are already being made in Brussels to standardize checks and tighten control over repatriation programs.
The Romanian authorities, in turn, announced their intention to tighten checks, create a digital database of archival records, strengthen control over residence registration, expand the powers of the prosecutor’s office, and conduct an audit of previously issued citizenships.
To date, at least 68 Romanian passports have been revoked, and another 300 cases are under review. In 2025, more than 900 applications were submitted that were deemed suspicious.
The investigation is ongoing. The authorities do not rule out further arrests and cancellations, while European institutions are increasingly vocal about the need to review approaches to citizenship and repatriation programs across the EU.