“Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russians have started illegally obtaining Romanian passports, using corruption schemes and forged documents to bypass Western sanctions and legalize themselves in the European Union.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: Le Monde
Details: According to the publication, the large-scale scheme is based on the falsification of “Romanian roots”. The Russians use the repatriation law, which allows the descendants of people who lived in the territory of the former Kingdom of Romania (in particular, modern Moldova, part of Odesa and Chernivtsi regions) to obtain citizenship in 1918-1940.
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Since many archives were destroyed during the Second World War, criminals “invent” relatives in the desired territories. According to police representatives and sources in the judicial system, the Russians also used the personal data of Ukrainian soldiers who died at the front to obtain passports.
The center of one such scheme was the village of Virfu-Kampului near the border with Ukraine. The population of this settlement has doubled in ten years – from 3,420 residents in 2011 to more than 7,000 in 2021. In November 2024, law enforcement officers exposed a network that registered there about 10,000 citizens of Moldova, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation.
Forged documents in exchange for bribes were issued over many years by employees of two civil status registration departments with the complicity of local residents, the investigation says.
Literally: “Criminal networks have formed over the years that take advantage of administrative loopholes to produce forged documents. They do not hide their intentions: there are many advertisements on social networks aimed at Russian-speaking citizens, offering them to obtain “European citizenship”. Agencies promise a prosperous life in the EU thanks to a Romanian passport, which they will help you obtain for 4-7 thousand euros, with special discounts for the Christmas period.
In 2023, Russian star Ksenia Sobchak, who has a large social media following, promoted such an agency in a YouTube video, calling for “Romanian citizenship” through this “restitution” program.
These agencies claim that their activities are completely legal, but in fact they work according to methods that have been practiced for many years by Ukrainian and Moldovan networks with the assistance of Romanian officials, some of whom have been the objects of criminal prosecution in the past.”
Details: The General Prosecutor’s Office of Romania announced the discovery of a criminal group created in 2022, which included seven citizens of Ukraine. The group worked with local lawyers and officials. In 2025 alone, they submitted more than 900 applications for naturalization using forged documents.
The last searches in this case took place on December 18, 2025, in particular in the City Hall of the 6th District of Bucharest. In autumn, the municipality already canceled 68 illegally issued passports, and another 300 cases are pending.
According to the attorney general, one inattentive official or one who “turns a blind eye” or one “loophole” is enough for fraudsters to take advantage of human, legislative and organizational gaps.