Romania and Moldova see spate of criminal investigations and fraud cases in early July

In Hunedoara County, Romania, police issued two provisional protection orders on 6 July after a 17‑year‑old reported threats from a peer and a 35‑year‑old woman reported physical abuse by her husband. Both incidents resulted in criminal complaints.

Romanian police also recovered ten stolen Italian paintings discovered in Constanța, which were handed over to Italian Carabinieri authorities. The artworks had been taken from a home in Bassano del Grappa in August 2024 and the investigation linked four Romanian suspects to the theft and illegal import.

A separate anti‑poaching operation in Ialomița County targeted illegal sturgeon fishing on the Borcea branch of the Danube. Police seized about 19 kg of sturgeon, fishing gear and other fish, and opened a case for suspected violations of the protection order for sturgeon species.

In Moldova, the police recorded 27 cases of escrow‑type scams between 3‑5 July, with total losses exceeding one million lei. Victims were deceived by callers impersonating bank or anti‑money‑laundering officials and were urged to transfer funds to couriers.

Romanian courts sentenced a man to 11 years and 4 months for fraudulently obtaining a 40,000‑lei loan using falsified identity documents, after he stole personal data from an online source and forged IDs.