Romanian DIICOT Investigates Renewable Energy Company for Fraud; $17,7M in Crypto Involved

Key Points

• DIICOT and officers from the Timișoara Organized Crime Fighting Brigade and the Regional Transport Police investigate the case.
• Mainstream media reported Restart Energy as being under investigation, but they denied involvement.

On March 26, prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism – Timișoara Territorial Service, and officers from the regional Organized Crime Fighting Brigade and Transport Police – Criminal Investigations Office, are investigating a criminal case concerning the offenses of:

• Establishing an organized criminal group
• Embezzlement with serious consequences
• Fraudulent use of company assets for personal gain
• Money laundering

Mainstream media reported that Restart Energy was involved in the case, as its stocks were suspended for one day from the BVB.

Restart Energy, a company that raised around $30 million via an ICO, allocated the funds to the blockchain-based energy platform Restart Energy Democracy (RED).

However, Restart Energy released a report, stating that it’s not part of the DIICOT investigation.

Local Authorities Investigation Official Statements

On its official website, DIICOT stated that it executed 66 home search warrants in the counties of Timiș, Caraș-Severin, Arad, Alba, Argeș, Teleorman, Hunedoara, Ilfov, and the municipality of Bucharest in the criminal case with the offences listed above.

Official evidence gathered showed that starting in 2018, in Timiș, two suspects, administrators of a commercial company, and other suspects involved in a renewable energy project within the company, formed an organized crime group to obtain significant amounts of money via the crimes.

The organized criminal group leaders reportedly acted in a coordinated and specialized manner, implementing a criminal mechanism for misappropriation and fraudulent use of company funds, which were subjected to money laundering processes.

Evidence showed that more suspects, including IT, accounting, and taxation specialists, joined the organized criminal group and formed the second tier of the network.

DIICOT reports that between 2018 and 2020, members of the organized criminal group misappropriated and used company assets for their own benefit and for others.

They reportedly transferred “over 25,000 units of a cryptocurrency attracted within the energy project” into virtual wallets. DIICOT did not mention the exact digital asset involved, but said that the loss amounted to around $17,7 million at the time of the report publication.

The bad actors transferred crypto from the company’s wallet to wallets controlled by members of the criminal group or affiliated entities.

DIICOT’s report also noted that between 2018 and 2024, group members converted crypto into fiat and transferred the money into bank accounts. Then they withdrew funds from these accounts and crypto ATMs, using the proceeds to:

• Purchase assets (real estate, vehicles, vacations)
• Fund businesses
• Grant loans to associates and employees who were aware of the illicit origin of the funds

They also reportedly falsified reports about crypto trading gains.

The report noted that 15 arrest warrants were being executed against individuals involved in the case, and against the legal representatives under investigation.

The entire operation is supported by officers from the Organized Crime Fighting Brigades in Bucharest, Pitești, Alba, Cluj, Oradea, Craiova, and their subordinate units, as well as by Special Intervention Gendarmerie Brigades, the Timișoara Mobile Gendarme Group, and the Timiș County Gendarme Inspectorate, DIICOT notes.

Authorities highlighted that through the investigation, all the individuals involved benefit from the legal rights and procedural guarantees provided by the Criminal Procedure Code, and the presumption of innocence.

In its report, DIICOT shared photos of confiscated money, cannabis, and crypto wallets.

Mass Media in Romania reported that the company involved in the investigation could have been Restart Energy.

Restart Energy Company, In the Spotlight

Company’s Stocks Suspended From BVB for 1 Day

Romanian mainstream press reported that the Restart Energy One stock valued at approximately 16,4 million RON was suspended, citing information from the BVB website – Bursei de Valori Bucureşti.

However, today, March 28, Restart Energy One’s stock is up by over 1% on BVB, following the earlier suspension.

The mainstream media also reported that the owner of the company, Armand Domuţa, had been retained, something that has not been confirmed so far.

Restart Energy Official Statement

Restart Energy published an official statement to BVB dated March 27, 2025, which stated that, considering the information that recently appeared in the mainstream media regarding the DIICOT investigation, the company informed that, based on the data available at the time of publishing the report, the company is not part of the investigations.

They also noted that the company will provide additional information and clarification as soon as it becomes available.

It remains to be seen when Romanian authorities will release more information about the ongoing investigation.