The controversial real estate developer Nordis, operating in some of Romania’s prime residential and commercial areas, collected nearly EUR 200 million through a “three-tiered pyramid scheme,” according to prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT).

A large-scale DIICOT operation was underway in the Nordis case on Monday, February 3, with dozens of searches in Bucharest, Constanța, Prahova, Galați, Bistrița-Năsăud, as well as in Monaco. In total, 65 locations are being looked into.

Vladimir Ciorbă, the main shareholder of Nordis, and Laura Vicol (opening picture) have been taken in for questioning following the searches. Ioana Băsescu, the eldest daughter of former president Traian Băsescu, was also being questioned at the DIICOT headquarters, as one of the notaries involved in the real estate company’s transactions. 

The charges in the case include the formation of an organized criminal group in 2018, embezzlement, money laundering, tax evasion, fraud, and the deliberate misrepresentation of taxes and contributions to unlawfully obtain refunds or compensations from the state budget. 

EUR 195 million embezzled 

Prosecutors have identified 72 suspects, three of whom are the alleged creators of the organized crime group, structured into three levels. The group developed real estate projects under the guise of various companies, collected money from buyers, embezzled company funds, and misled customers during the signing of pre-contracts and sales agreements.

The second tier of the group consisted of close associates of the three founders, while the third tier included notaries and lawyers who assisted in drafting legal documents and managing money derived from embezzlement.

According to the prosecutors, the companies' accounting records included fictitious transactions to evade taxes and VAT. The ultimate goal was to illegally obtain refunds or compensations from the state budget. Buyers, the state, and commercial entities suffered financial damages. 

DIICOT found that between 2019 and 2024, the group's leaders, through five commercial companies, collected over RON 957 million (EUR 195 million) from individuals and businesses as down payments for purchase agreements involving apartments, parking spaces, and furniture. 

These funds were embezzled within short periods, transferred to individuals in the criminal network, affiliated companies, or spent on salaries and luxury expenses. In most cases, these financial transactions were masked by falsified legal documents to give the appearance of legitimacy, such as advances, dividends, loan repayments, share transfers, or the creation and acquisition of multiple companies. The money ultimately ended up in the group's accounts or was withdrawn in cash, according to the DIICOT press release.

False promises, fraudulent tactics 

During the same period, the suspects misled customers by falsely claiming that construction phases were completed, apartments were delivered, and that properties were nearly sold out. They repeatedly delayed contract signings, pressured buyers into unfavorable terms, and cited false obstacles such as unpaid taxes, weather conditions, the pandemic, or the war in Ukraine to justify delays. 

Fraudulent tactics allegedly included selling properties to multiple buyers, conditioning contract signings on new undisclosed obligations (e.g., long-term leasing of purchased apartments for hotel use), burdening properties with encumbrances without notifying clients, preventing the registration of sales promises in the land registry, and requiring buyers to agree not to publicly discuss contract issues under threat of severe financial penalties. 

Political backing

Revelations about Nordis’ wrongdoings first came out in an investigation by independent journalists at Recorder, who showed that the company benefited from political backing through influential Social Democrat (PSD) deputy Laura Vicol, the wife of one of Nordis’ officials.

“The show has begun!” said Vicol, who led the Chamber of Deputies’ judicial committee, as a reaction to the February 3 searches.

After the Recorder investigation came out, she has been left out of the Social Democratic Party’s parliamentary lists and is no longer an MP.

Recorder also showed in a later investigation that Nordis was also protected by the Romanian Consumer Protection Agency, which should have identified abusive clauses in contracts between Nordis and investors. The agency head at that time, Horia Constantinescu, is reportedly a friend of Vicol and later ran - unsuccessfully - as PSD candidate for mayor of Constanta.

Journalistic investigations also showed that Romanian prime minister and Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu took private flights accompanied by other party leaders, including Laura Vicol. The flights were allegedly sponsored by Nordis. Ciolacu denied any wrongdoing and stated that he paid for the flights. 

Nordis’ bankruptcy 

The real estate developer went into bankruptcy immediately after the first investigation was released. CITR, in its capacity as the judicial administrator of Nordis, analyzed the past three years of the company’s activity and found that it could no longer gather the liquidity needed to complete development projects.

Nordis then failed to meet completion deadlines, sales dropped, and payment obligations weighed it down. It now owes creditors RON 728.8 million, with RON 422.6 million representing claims from obligations currently in force.

According to CITR, clients with ongoing sale-purchase promises have the primary right to receive promised apartments or the money they invested, followed by clients who have decided to withdraw from the project and opted for contract termination.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos | George Calin)