Authorities have carried out dozens of raids across Romania and Monaco, targeting 40 individuals and 32 companies linked to a high-profile real estate developer accused of defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of euros.
The operation, led by Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), focused on Nordis, a luxury real estate company accused of money laundering, tax evasion and fraudulent schemes that left buyers without properties they had paid for.
On Monday, police raided 63 locations across Bucharest and several counties in Romania, as well as two in Monaco, as part of the investigation, reported online news outlet romaniajournal.ro.
Among those under scrutiny is Vladimir Ciorbă, a key shareholder in Nordis.
Prosecutors accuse Ciorbă of being the mastermind behind an elaborate financial scheme that defrauded investors and evaded taxes on a massive scale.
According to investigators, Ciorbă and his associates allegedly misled buyers by collecting over 957 million lei (€195 million) in down payments for properties that were either never completed or sold multiple times to different customers.
Meanwhile, an estimated €2.4 million was allegedly siphoned off into personal accounts, luxury expenses, and fraudulent transactions.
Ciorbă’s political ties have also raised concerns. His wife, Laura Vicol, was a lawmaker from the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) and previously headed the Legal Committee in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Romania’s bicameral parliament.
She resigned from her position and left the party in the wake of the scandal but has fiercely denied the accusations against her and her husband, dismissing them as a political attack.
On Monday, police raided 63 locations across Bucharest and several counties in Romania, as well as two in Monaco, as part of the investigation, reported online news outlet romaniajournal.ro.
Among those under scrutiny is Vladimir Ciorbă, a key shareholder in Nordis.
Prosecutors accuse Ciorbă of being the mastermind behind an elaborate financial scheme that defrauded investors and evaded taxes on a massive scale.
According to investigators, Ciorbă and his associates allegedly misled buyers by collecting over 957 million lei (€195 million) in down payments for properties that were either never completed or sold multiple times to different customers.
Meanwhile, an estimated €2.4 million was allegedly siphoned off into personal accounts, luxury expenses, and fraudulent transactions.
Political fallout
Ciorbă’s political ties have also raised concerns. His wife, Laura Vicol, was a lawmaker from the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) and previously headed the Legal Committee in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Romania’s bicameral parliament.
She resigned from her position and left the party in the wake of the scandal but has fiercely denied the accusations against her and her husband, dismissing them as a political attack.
In a television interview, she called the investigation an “execution against her” and rejected claims that Nordis engaged in double-selling apartments.
She said: “I didn’t understand why this execution was done when no one asked me what it was about. Nordis had assets to cover anything. There was no apartment sold twice. Legally you can’t do this.
“My husband is not a majority partner [in the company]; there are five partners. My husband did not sell apartments—there was a sales department.”
Vicol also claimed that Nordis was unfairly targeted because of its alleged links to PSD.
The case has also drawn in other prominent figures, including Ioana Băsescu, daughter of former President Traian Băsescu.
Local media outlet Digi24 reported that Ioana Băsescu has been charged with supporting the alleged organized crime group, although prosecutors have not ordered any preventive measures for her.
Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has also been linked to the case due to his past political ties with the Vicol-Ciorbă family and the fact that he had traveled with them on private flights, including to Monaco, romaniajournal.ro reported.
While Vicol confirmed that she had flown with Ciolacu “two or three times,” she claimed that everyone paid their own share of the costs and that her husband had not funded the trips.
According to romaniajournal.ro, when asked in parliament about his connections to the couple, Ciolacu distanced himself, saying that he had not communicated with them in over two years.
She said: “I didn’t understand why this execution was done when no one asked me what it was about. Nordis had assets to cover anything. There was no apartment sold twice. Legally you can’t do this.
“My husband is not a majority partner [in the company]; there are five partners. My husband did not sell apartments—there was a sales department.”
Vicol also claimed that Nordis was unfairly targeted because of its alleged links to PSD.
The case has also drawn in other prominent figures, including Ioana Băsescu, daughter of former President Traian Băsescu.
Local media outlet Digi24 reported that Ioana Băsescu has been charged with supporting the alleged organized crime group, although prosecutors have not ordered any preventive measures for her.
PM faces scrutiny
Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has also been linked to the case due to his past political ties with the Vicol-Ciorbă family and the fact that he had traveled with them on private flights, including to Monaco, romaniajournal.ro reported.
While Vicol confirmed that she had flown with Ciolacu “two or three times,” she claimed that everyone paid their own share of the costs and that her husband had not funded the trips.
According to romaniajournal.ro, when asked in parliament about his connections to the couple, Ciolacu distanced himself, saying that he had not communicated with them in over two years.
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