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The Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors placed Bucharest mayor Ciprian Ciucu under judicial control on Thursday after charging him with taking bribes while he was mayor of Sector 6, the capital’s sixth district, in late 2025. The National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) said Ciucu, who is also first vice-president of the ruling National Liberal Party (PNL), is suspected of receiving money in exchange for issuing urban-planning documents. Two other people, including the former head of the National Office for Gambling (ONJN), Odeta Nestor, were remanded in custody on the same day, while television personality Denise Rifai was named as a suspect.
In a Facebook post, Ciucu denied the allegations, calling them “bad timing in a bad context” and insisting he neither took money nor conditioned permits on kickbacks . He added that the accusations came at a moment when he was “overwhelmed with work” at City Hall. Hours earlier, prosecutors said the case against him had been separated from a larger investigation into how gambling licences were obtained, and that bribes of €100,000 had allegedly been paid through Nestor, a lobbyist who formerly ran the ONJN .
President Nicolae Ciucă, who is not related to the mayor, told reporters he saw no reason for Ciucu to step down because the alleged offences did not involve his current duties at City Hall . The Social Democratic Party (PSD) immediately demanded that PNL withdraw its political backing from Ciucu and called on him to resign to protect the “image of the institution” he leads .
PNL leaders struck a more cautious note. Deputy Raluca Turcan told Digi24 the timing looked like “too big a coincidence” in a politically tense period, while MEP Gheorghe Falcă said he would not rush to label colleagues . Former mayoral rival Călin Drulă, now a deputy, called the public release of the file “worrying” in the current climate .
Ciucu spent roughly three hours at the DNA headquarters on Thursday morning before the judicial-control measure was imposed for 60 days. He emerged to tell reporters he was innocent and would cooperate fully with investigators .