Romania seizes $7 million from crypto entrepreneur in election fraud financing probe

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Bogdan Peșchir has had $7 million seized from his home during an investigation into the financing of electoral fraud in Romania. Peschir has come under scrutiny for allegedly sending $381,000 to various TikTok accounts that had been promoting Romanian presidential frontrunner Călin Georgescu. Georgescu, a far-right, pro-Russian independent, burst onto the Romanian political scene in the weeks leading up to the first round of voting in late November. Some 25,000 TikTok accounts, with a combined 8 million followers, were suddenly dedicated to promoting the obscure anti-NATO engineer. Peșchir’s ties to the cryptocurrency industry have raised further questions. His business dealings include a partnership with BitXATM, a Romanian crypto ATM company that was the subject of a theft scandal in 2016. The company’s founder, Gabrial Prodanescu, accused a former employee of the crime. Peșchir later testified at the trial, which resulted in the man’s conviction. BitXATM stopped updating its website, and some users said they had lost funds. Prodanescu subsequently opened another cryptocurrency company in the UK under the same name, as well as a subsidiary called Globaya LTD. Peșchir is listed as an employee of Globaya. (Protos)