Prosecutors arrest ex-SIS deputy chief in foiled Belarus-backed espionage plot

Alexandru Balan, former deputy director of the Moldovan Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), was detained on Tuesday by prosecutors with the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) on charges of treason and passing secret intel to the Belarusian KGB, judicial sources said.

Balan was brought under escort to the DIICOT headquarters on Tuesday morning, and after almost eight hours of questioning, prosecutors decided to detain him for 24 hours.

The former high-ranking SIS officer was apprehended in Timisoara on Monday and taken to Bucharest for questioning.

"The evidence provided reveals that, starting with 2024 and up to the present, the suspect, who previously held senior positions with the Intelligence and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova, was involved in activities of unauthorized disclosure of state secret information to representatives of a foreign power, specifically officers from the Belarusian State Security Committee - KGB, engaging in activities likely to endanger the national security of Romania," DIICOT announced on Monday in a press release.

Thus, between 2024 - 2025, the suspect met twice in Budapest with intelligence officers from the Republic of Belarus State Security Committee - KGB, there being reasonable suspicions that these meetings were aimed at the passage of instructions and payments for the services rendered.

The investigation is being conducted under the coordination of EUROJUST, with the support of authorities from Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the Republic of Moldova. 

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