A network producing fake passports for Russians has been exposed in Romania
On Tuesday, Romanian law enforcement agencies conducted searches as part of an investigation into a network that produced fake passports and birth certificates for residents of former Soviet countries, including Russia.
This was reported by the Romanian service of Radio Liberty.
The investigation concerns approximately 300 Russian citizens who allegedly obtained Romanian documents illegally between 2022 and 2024. Among those who benefited were Russian oligarchs, businessmen and even criminals wanted in Russia.
According to the Romanian prosecutor’s office, the investigation aims to dismantle a network which, with the help of officials from the population registration department and the mayor’s office, issued fake Romanian documents related to residence and citizenship for individuals born in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.
Romanian media report that Russians were willing to pay between €15,000 and €40,000 for Romanian documents. Some reportedly posed as Ukrainians who had died as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Separately, in Romania near the borders with Ukraine and Moldova, authorities discovered a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle without a combat unit that had entered the country on the night of 25 November.
