A former deputy director of Moldova’s top intelligence agency on Tuesday was been charged in Romania for treason for allegedly passing state secrets to Belarusian operatives.
Romanian prosecutors say that Alexandru Balan, 47, who held senior positions in Moldova’s Information and Security Service (SIS), handed over state secrets to officers of the Belarusian KGB between 2024 and 2025 in a way that threatened Romania’s national security.
The investigation is being led by DIICOT, Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism.
European nations have repeatedly accused Russia and its ally Belarus of engaging in hybrid warfare against EU countries, through disinformation campaigns, election interference, cyberattacks and spy networks. Moscow and Minsk deny the allegations.
Operations have been stepped up after Moscow staged its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Romania’s DIICOT stated that the investigation followed “specific actions carried out by the Romanian Intelligence Service, in cooperation with partner institutions from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and the Information and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova.”
“On September 8, 2025, prosecutors from (DIICOT) executed a summons for a 47-year-old suspect, a former high-ranking officer within SIS, investigated for committing the crime of treason through the continuous transmission of state secrets.”
Authorities allege Balan twice met with Belarusian intelligence officials in Budapest, and that these meetings may have involved the transfer of instructions and payments for services rendered.
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