Romania has uncovered a large-scale scheme issuing fake passports and birth certificates to Russian citizens and nationals of other former Soviet states, with direct links to Russian intelligence services, Robert Lansing Institute reports.
Law enforcement conducted 93 searches in connection with a case of bribery and computer fraud, including private homes and several government buildings. The criminal network operated with the assistance of personnel from the population registration service and the Suceava County municipality, issuing fraudulent Romanian documents that confirmed identity and citizenship to citizens of Russia, Moldova, and other former Soviet republics.
From 2022 to 2024, around 300 Russians obtained illegal Romanian passports and birth certificates. Among them were businessmen, oligarchs, and wanted criminals. Russian citizens paid between €15,000 and €40,000 for the fake documents. In some cases, personal data of Ukrainian soldiers killed during Russia’s full-scale invasion were used. Documents were issued without the consent of the legal owners, without verification of residence, and without the applicants’ personal presence.
Investigators found that Russians exploited gaps in legislation and the absence of a centralized database to verify consular documents issued abroad, including in Russia and Turkey. Around 280 Russians submitted fake certificates of Romanian citizenship allegedly issued by consulates.
Another method involved the theft of personal data of Ukrainian soldiers. There were about 20 confirmed cases, though the number could be much higher, involving bribes to state officials in northern Romania — approximately €15,000 per case — to obtain Romanian identity documents.
The investigation also revealed that in 2023–2024, around 1,700 people obtained fake residence permits in Romania, though the actual number may exceed 7,000. Among those using fake documents was Russian billionaire Sergey Lomakin, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $2 billion. In 2024, he attempted to obtain Moldovan citizenship by forging his mother’s birth certificate. Moldova uncovered the forgery and rejected the application. Lomakin is closely connected to the Kremlin and generates significant profit for the Russian state through his business structures, including the Kopeyka, Modis, Fix Price, and TsentrObuv networks.
Similar schemes have been recorded in Bulgaria: in April 2024, 343 Russians submitted fake documents for citizenship, raising serious concerns for the authorities.
Experts claim that the issuance of EU citizenship to Russians is controlled by Russian intelligence agencies — the FSB, GRU, and SVR. Moscow uses this mechanism to embed intelligence agents and “sleeper” structures in EU member states while creating safe routes for the elite and ensuring financial mobility under sanctions. Criminal networks involved in issuing fake documents often overlap with organized crime groups working for the intelligence services.
Signs of a systematic Russian operation include a sharp increase in citizenship applications in smaller EU states, use of forged Moldovan and Bulgarian documents at border control, an unexplained rise in “new residents” in Romania from former Soviet countries, identical residential addresses among dozens of applicants, and the growth of cross-border law firms specializing in “assisting with citizenship.”
According to RLI, the FSB supervises the diaspora, “illegals,” and covert assets; the GRU uses foreign documents for logistics and covert operations; and the SVR manages long-term embedded agents (“sleepers”). Russian organized crime groups such as the Solntsevskaya and Tambov/Malyshev clans act as intermediaries, providing operational cover for the intelligence services.
