The detention by DIICOT of an intelligence agent, accused of selling national secrets to Belarus, has caused panic among Kremlin’s influence networks in Romania at the thought that he might speak. The event has also led to the clarification of some actions that took place over 10 years ago in Moldova, providing some clues and connections to last year’s institutional deadlock that occurred during the presidential elections.
Some ideas from the article:
- Between 2019 and 2012, the SIS decimated the Romanian Embassy in the Republic of Moldova. At that time, George Scarlat held the position of cultural attaché, mysteriously surviving hostile operations ordered by Russia against Romanian diplomats.
- During the same period, Marius Lulea, currently a senator and vice president of AUR, promoted George Scarlat among some unionist movements across the Prut River.
- The massive TikTok campaign, the rapid, fraudulent, and intense promotion of Călin Georgescu on social networks, would not have been possible without premeditated, secret, and long-term actions aimed at blocking the institutions responsible for ensuring the correctness of the electoral process.
- The support George Scarlat received within the presidential administration for such a long period indicates a major vulnerability at the Cotroceni Palace.
The arrest of Alexandru Bălan, a former SIS (Security and Intelligence Service) director with dual Moldovan and Romanian citizenship, for espionage in favor of Russia, opened a real Pandora's box in the world of intelligence agencies.
"Bălan played an important role in SIS Moldova regarding actions against Romanian diplomats, also conducting recruitment operations of Moldovan students studying in Romania to obtain information…," stated Anatol Șalaru in an interview with SpotMedia.
The statement of the former Defense Minister of Moldova was also confirmed by a former official from the country.
"I worked at the Romanian Embassy in Chișinău until July 2009, when Vladimir Voronin was still the president. I didn't know Alexandru Bălan, but I felt his presence," stated Sandu Valentin Mateiu, a retired navy commander, former political-military analyst at the Ministry of National Defense, exclusively for SpotMedia.
A New Cultural Attaché Arrives in Chișinău
On November 12, 2012, Danicu Tănasă, the military attaché of Romania in Chișinău, was stopped by Moldovan police at a road checkpoint, accused of consuming alcoholic beverages.
Retired Commander Sandu Valentin Mateiu is convinced today that behind the compromise of the Romanian diplomat was Alexandru Bălan, a career intelligence officer who was removed from SIS during Maia Sandu's term, spending three years working in Kiev, Ukraine, at the Moldovan embassy.
Shortly after the expulsion of Ambassador Filip Teodorescu by the authorities in Chișinău, who were politically controlled by Russia at the time, George Scarlat arrived as the media and cultural attaché at the diplomatic representation, a former journalist of the "Ziua" newspaper, member of the PNȚ-CD, and former advisor to Radu Vasile, during his term as prime minister of Romania.
In 2010, the cultural attaché gave an interview to the "Timpul" publication in Moldova, urging young Moldovans to study in Romania.
"…the embassy only provides them with the spaces it owns - the consular sections of the Romanian Embassy in Chișinău, as well as the headquarters of the general consulates in Bălți," stated George Scarlat at that time, promoting a program of the Romanian Government.
The diplomat was at the Romanian Embassy in Chișinău during the 2012 crisis, in which Alexandru Bălan, the intelligence agent detained by DIICOT, compromised at least one official from Bucharest.
In 2014, George Scarlat published an article signed as a "member of the Romanian diplomatic corps in Chișinău."
"The Lipovan Russian minority recently organized a meeting at the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest of representatives of the Russian diaspora worldwide, with the aim of preparing the emigration congress to be held in Moscow. The Kremlin would have never approved such a manifestation in Bucharest if the Russians had problems with the Romanian majority," wrote George Scarlat in the Unimedia.md publication, the article being titled "Myths about the union of Bessarabia with Romania."
The article is interesting both from the perspective of promoting Russia's interests in Romania and because it was published in April 2014, two months after Vladimir Putin launched the annexation operation of the Crimean Peninsula, with the article being promoted in Romania by Marius Dorin Lulea, currently the vice president of AUR and a senator in Romania.
When distributing the subtly pro-Russian positions of diplomat George Scarlat in the country, Marius Lulea presented himself as the president of the Center for Culture, History, and Education - the Bucharest-Chișinău Cultural Society, a member of the political platform Action 2012.
The Exception that Confirms the Crisis within the Cotroceni Palace
On February 23, 2015, Klaus Iohannis appointed Constantin Dudu Ionescu as a state counselor, with the status of a dignitary, according to the law, being the head of the National Security Department - Directorate of Integrated Information Office.
"The National Security Department represents the specialized structure within the Presidential Administration, intended to ensure the fulfillment by the President of Romania of the duties conferred by the Constitution in the areas of country defense and national security," as stated in the official description of the institution and its responsibilities.
"The main responsibility of the Department consists of providing decision-making support and the necessary expertise to the President of Romania for the elaboration of the National Defense Strategy of the Country, coordinating the implementation process and evaluating the results, activities carried out in close collaboration with other specialized structures within the Presidential Administration, ministries and institutions with responsibilities in the field of country defense and national security, as well as with international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the academic environment, institutes and experts from the country and abroad," as specified in the document.
"Additionally, the Department presents to the President of Romania proposals aimed at the unified coordination of activities related to country defense and national security, participation in maintaining international security and collective defense in military alliance systems, as well as in actions to maintain or restore peace," further details the department's presentation.
During the strong hybrid attack launched by Russia against Romania and officially recognized by the authorities in our country, the National Security Department within the Presidential Administration was paralyzed.
According to several sources consulted for writing the article, there was no communication between the state counselor and President Iohannis until November 24, the day of the first round of the presidential elections, later annulled.
Also, two indirect pieces of evidence indicate that the former state counselor Constantin Dudu Ionescu was seen as having a certain responsibility for the institutional lack of reaction in the face of the hybrid attack launched by Russia against Romania:
- The adviser is the only one who was not decorated by Klaus Iohannis on December 18, 2024, when the head of state awarded orders and medals to 235 people, employees of the presidential administration, collaborators, and auxiliary staff. According to tradition, presidents decorate all employees of the Cotroceni Palace at the end of their term. If there are exceptions, it means that the head of state was disappointed in that person, sources familiar with how the presidential administration operates have stated.
- On March 18, Constantin Dudu Ionescu is released from his position, at his request, during the interim presidency of Ilie Bolojan. The event takes place 10 days before the only CSAT (Supreme Defense Council) meeting held under Bolojan's patronage, during which "reports on the activity of institutions with responsibilities in the field of national security in 2024 were analyzed and approved, as well as the main objectives for 2025, and reports on the budget execution of operational expenses for national security by these institutions," as stated in the Cotroceni Palace press release.
From Iohannis to Georgescu
George Scarlat, the diplomat who was in the Romanian embassy during the massacre carried out by Alexandru Bălan, according to statements from individuals in the diplomatic representation, most likely at Russia's order and promoted by Marius Lulea, was a adviser in Dudu Ionescu's cabinet, according to sources from the presidential administration.
Between the two, there is a long-standing connection, both politically and institutionally. Both were part of the National Peasant Party starting in the '90s, and during 1999, they frequently crossed paths in the Romanian Government, where Dudu Ionescu was the Minister of Internal Affairs, and Scarlat was a state counselor in the Executive led by Radu Vasile.
Official data, decrees issued by the President of Romania, and asset declarations indicate that George Scarlat worked at the Cotroceni Palace between November 18, 2015, and January 13, 2025.
Additionally, Constantin Dudu Ionescu worked for Klaus Iohannis from February 23, 2015 - March 18, 2025.
George Scarlat left the Cotroceni Palace a day after the large protest organized by AUR in Victory Square, where at least 20,000 people demanded the annulment of the Constitutional Court's decision and the organization of the second round of presidential elections.
A few weeks later, on March 13, five days before Dudu Ionescu's resignation, Scarlat posted on his Facebook page a selfie with Călin Georgescu, with a message of support for the presidential candidate, officially endorsed by Russia.
"Do not be afraid! We are free citizens of Romania. Democracy was built on the shoulders of our generation, the Revolution and University Square generation, the struggles against the Soviet occupation regime. No one has the right to dictate what we should say, what to believe in. We are free people! And no one can dictate a dictatorship in Romania."
The message is interesting because it is written by a person who worked for Klaus Iohannis for over 9 years, being paid by the dictatorship he refers to in the message, the former president resigning under AUR's pressure, while George Simion and Călin Georgescu still consider Iohannis the main culprit for canceling the elections.
In his message, Scarlat interestingly refers to the Soviet occupation regime, not to Russia, the Kremlin, or Moscow, making no mention of Putin's regime's aggression towards Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and other European states.
Miraculous Transformation
Costin Andrieș, programmer and editor of the publication "În Linie Dreaptă," first pointed out on his Facebook page on March 13 that a former employee of the presidential administration, decorated by Klaus Iohannis, appears alongside Călin Georgescu, presenting himself as a major supporter of the latter shortly after leaving the Cotroceni Palace.
Following Costin Andrieș' post, George Scarlat took a radical step. He deleted his Facebook page only to launch a new one two weeks later, presenting a new version of himself, as an AUR activist and supporter of Călin Georgescu.
He promotes all party actions, intensely criticizes the current governance, overnight becoming a MAGA supporter and an enemy of Ukraine.
His entire transformation reaches its peak on July 27, when he attempts to enter the Republic of Moldova to attend the "MEGA Conference (Make Europe Great Again)" in Chișinău, part of a series of events organized by conservative movements in Europe, and discovers he is banned from entering the country.
Authorities in Chișinău consider George Scarlat, former media and cultural attaché at the Romanian Embassy in Moldova, a threat to the national security of the country, just like George Simion, the AUR leader.
Unanswered Questions
For the writing of this article, George Scarlat was contacted. In a brief phone conversation, he declined to continue the discussion when the subject was presented, claiming to be busy, but agreed to receive a few questions via WhatsApp:
- What was the reason for resigning from the position of adviser in Mr. Constantin Dudu Ionescu's cabinet before he left the Cotroceni Palace?
- During your time as media and cultural attaché at the Romanian Embassy in Chișinău, did you know Alexandru Bălan or Ruslan Munteanu, employees of the SIS at that time?
- When and why did you receive the ban from entering the territory of the Republic of Moldova?
- After posting an image with Călin Georgescu on March 12, why did you delete your Facebook page and create a new one a few days later?
As of the publication of this article, George Scarlat has not responded to the questions sent. If he does, the answers will be published in this article or a separate one.
Questions related to this subject were also sent to the Presidential Administration. They have not received a response, at least not yet. The Cotroceni Palace's position will also be published if it becomes available.
A Major Institutional Failure
George Scarlat's evolution is interesting as it sheds some light on the labyrinth of complicity within the country's institutions and agencies, showing how many of those responsible for national security were paralyzed, allowing Russia's hybrid attack that compromised Romania's electoral process at the end of last year.
George Scarlat's actions, the way he was supported and embedded in the Presidential Administration, indicate a major vulnerability at the Cotroceni Palace during Klaus Iohannis's term.
The massive TikTok campaign, the rapid, fraudulent, and intense promotion of Călin Georgescu on social networks would not have been possible without premeditated, secret, and long-term actions aimed at blocking institutions responsible for ensuring the correctness of the electoral process and providing guarantees to citizens that it is conducted in accordance with the law, transparently and fairly for all candidates and voters.
What happened before November 24, the day of the first round of the presidential elections, is as important as the sequence of events that followed, when Călin Georgescu, along with Horațiu Potra and others, plotted a coup.