Investigators confiscated seven million dollars from Bogdan Peschir, the person who financed Calin Georgescu's campaign on TikTok, after overnight raids at his homes in Brasov, Agerpres reports.
According to officials from the General Prosecutor's Office, the searches began on Saturday morning and were completed overnight. Several devices, computers, and storage media were seized from the three properties of Bogdan Peschir in Brasov.
The devices were subjected to digital forensics, after which the sum of 7 million dollars was transferred from Peschir's account to the accounts of the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets (ANABI).
After the hearings, prosecutors decided to release Bogdan Peschir without imposing any restrictive measures on him.
The investigation focuses on potential offenses such as voter bribery, money laundering, computer fraud, and the crime defined by Article 5 of Emergency Ordinance No. 31/2002 concerning the prohibition of fascist, racist, or xenophobic organisations and symbols.
Prosecutors maintain that the investigation concerns Peschir's possible involvement in the illegal financing of Calin Georgescu's electoral campaign, using sums of money that may have originated from criminal activities, which were then funneled into a money-laundering process.
According to documents presented by the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) to the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT), Bogdan Peschir used the account 'bogpr,' through which he made donations exceeding one million euros on TikTok to finance Georgescu's campaign.
After becoming a subject of public debate, the involvement of 'bogpr' in financing Calin Georgescu's promotion on the platform was confirmed by TikTok representatives in a meeting with Romanian authorities on November 28, 2024, according to SRI.
TikTok representatives confirmed the identity of the user "bogpr" and mentioned that this account made payments totaling 381,000 dollars between October 24 and November 24, 2024, to TikTok users involved in promoting Calin Georgescu, even after the conclusion of the electoral campaign.
SRI also reported that the funding for TikTok influencers was secured through the FameUp platform (dedicated to monetizing online promotional activities), where the advertising opportunity was published, along with well-defined descriptions. "One of the methods used to attract Romanian influencers to promote Calin Georgescu's candidacy was contacting them by email by the company (...), of South African origin, offering 1,000 euros for sharing a video made by them," SRI added.
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