DIICOT and police raided dozens of addresses across Romania in a bid to dismantle a suspected organized crime network accused of fiscal evasion and money laundering. The operation, carried out on 15 October 2026, involved 48 search warrants in six counties and Bucharest. Investigators from DIICOT Iași and organized crime police carried out searches in Iași, Giurgiu, Prahova, Maramureș, Dâmbovița, Ilfov and Bucharest. Prosecutors say the group has been operating since 2021, with more than 20 alleged perpetrators working through an elaborate, fictitious commercial circuit in the construction sector. The scheme allegedly used chains of shell companies, described as beneficiaries, intermediaries, and so-called phantom firms. Investigators allege the network issued and recorded successive invoices tied to fictitious or overpriced “commercial operations.” Those documents, including work statements and reception minutes, were used to create an apparent paper trail for services and purchases that never matched real economic activity. Prosecutors also say the companies lacked real business capacity, such as staff or relevant commercial links, and were used to fragment transactions and simulate legitimate relationships. Authorities also described alleged money flows that moved funds between the companies and were repeatedly redistributed through multiple entities before being withdrawn in cash. Investigators say the aim was to remove the money from the banking circuit and hide its true origin. DIICOT says the damage to the state budget is at least 16.665.844 lei for the period 2023-2025, including 9.067.303 lei in VAT and 7.598.538 lei in corporate profit tax. The probe also identified alleged damage to companies of at least 38.729.358 lei for the same 2023-2025 period. The investigation is ongoing, under the oversight of DIICOT Iași, with suspects under investigation benefiting from procedural rights and the presumption of innocence.