Sebastian Ghiță, a controversial Romanian businessman and former politician, has appeared in a report on Kremlin influence operations Romania and Moldova, a press investigation shows.
The Armenian FIP.am portal (in Armenian and English) published its report on May 16 based on a leak of communications from the Russian presidential administration.
The report revealed information campaigns already implemented or planned by the agency in Armenia, France, Ukraine, Germany, Moldova, Romania, Norway, and other countries, and planning materials, reports, and other deliverables.
The leaked data contain materials and plans to influence societies in those countries. In Europe, the actions were mainly aimed at generating anger towards migrants, Ukraine, and occasionally Armenia, supporting far-right forces, and spreading other pro-Russian narratives. Significant actions were aimed at discrediting Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Moldovan President Maia Sandu, the report said.
In the reported exchange of messages in April 2025, a Russian agent with the codename “Edward Bernays” discusses “ideas regarding collaboration with Sebastian Ghiță,” with Russian presidential official Sofia Zaharova, suggesting that he is already in contact with a network of Russian agents and propagandists.
According to the report, one idea touched on a potential public statement by Ghiță saying Moldova’s pro-Western President Maia Sandu attempted bribe Romania TV 150,000 euros to not broadcast negative news about her.
Ghita denied the allegations, claiming that “Soros agents” referring to Hungarian billionaire Geprge Soros who has supported democracy in former communist countries and is a bugbear of authoritarian regimes were behind the reports.
The report mentioned another proposal, an alleged effort by Sandu to “buy the loyalty” of Romania TV which Ghita owns, during a re-run of Romania’s presidential in May 2025 presenting herself as representing European influences and suggesting that the outcome of the election was already decided.
Analysts quoted in the article said the style of communications indicated an already established relationship with Ghiță, not initial explorations.
The report also mentions a meeting in Belgrade in 2021 between Sebastian Ghiță and Călin Georgescu, whose surprise first place in December 2024 presidential elections led to the ballot being cancelled by the Constitutional Court over suspected Russian influence.
Georgescu has confirmed the meeting saying he was trying to help Ghiță avoid arrest. In an audio recording, Ghiță claims that Georgescu asked for his help for contacts with “Russians and Serbs” and presented himself as a future president of Romania.
Ghiță, 47, was detained by Serbian police in Belgrade in April 2017, after fleeing Romania months earlier. However, in 2018, Serbian courts refused his extradition to Romania, citing that he was granted political asylum due to a threat of political persecution in his home country.
The article also outlines the role of Sofia Zaharova, who is responsible for information technologies in Russia’s presidential administration. She is described as the link between the Kremlin and the Social Design Agency, a unit that handles disinformation campaigns and “Doppelgänger” operations, by cloning European media websites.
Zaharova allegedly coordinated budgets, reports, and directives for influence operations in several states, which led to her being sanctioned by the European Union and other allies.
The report also mentions criticism from Moldovan commentators, who accuse Romania TV of having an anti- Sandu and anti-Moldova bias and also promoting pro-Russian politicians, including Marina Tauber, close to pro-Russian Moldovan oligarch Ilan Șor, who fled to Moscow.
