Border money laundering alert. The routes through which billions of euros in cash left Romania under the radar of the authorities
More than 1.7 billion euros in cash were declared at Romania's borders in the period 2024-2025, according to an analysis carried out by the Control Body of the Ministry of Finance and the Romanian Customs Authority. The report indicates the existence of repetitive flows of money, concentrated in the hands of a small number of people and on recurring routes from Ukraine, with suspicions of major money laundering vulnerabilities.
More than 1.7 billion euros in cash have crossed Romania's borders. Archive photo
The strategic analyzes carried out on the cash declarations submitted at Romania's border points highlight the existence of large cross-border cash flows, repetitive and concentrated, which involved amounts of over 1.7 billion euros transited through Romania in the period 2024-2025, according to a report recently completed by the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Romanian Customs Authority.
Thus, the analyzed data show that, in the interval 01.01.2024 – 31.12.2025, 7,593 cash declarations were recorded in the queried databases, of which 5,758 upon entry into the European Union through Romania's border points and 1,835 upon exit from the EU. The total value declared at the entrance was 1.261 billion euros, and at the exit 511.7 million euros.
The analyzes were carried out during the action of the Control Body of the Ministry of Finance carried out together with the Romanian Customs Authority and followed the evolution of cash declarations submitted at Romania's borders in the periods 2024-2025. They highlighted the existence of recurring patterns of cross-border cash transport, the concentration of very large volumes of money at the level of a small number of people and the repeated use of the same routes and border points.
Ukraine, the main source of money
According to the analyses, Ukraine represented the main country of origin of the funds, followed by the Republic of Moldova and Turkey, while the main destinations of the declared cash were Turkey, Austria and Romania. Only in the period 2024–2025, 73% of the declarations submitted when entering the EU through Romania had Ukraine as their source of origin.
The checks revealed that a small group of people repeatedly carried out cash transports of very large values. Out of the total of 1,464 declarations related to people who entered the EU from Ukraine, 943 declarations – representing 64% – were submitted by only 21 people.
Main routes
During the analysis, cases were identified of people who repeatedly introduced significant sums of money through Romania's border points, mainly using the route Ukraine – Romania – Austria or Ukraine – Romania – Turkey.
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The analysis also revealed the concentration of very large volumes of cash in a few customs points. Thus, the Siret Border Customs Office recorded, during the analyzed period, declarations totaling approximately 793.9 million euros, and the Halmeu Border Customs Office approximately 362.7 million euros. Cumulatively, the two customs points concentrated more than 92% of the total amounts declared at the national level.
Intensified flows in the first part of 2025
The data analyzed following the control show that in the first months of 2025 cash flows transported across the border increased significantly, both at the entrance to the European Union and at the exit. The peak of the phenomenon was recorded between March and May 2025, during which the declared volumes clearly exceeded the levels of the same period of 2024. The peak values recorded were approximately 72 million euros in March, 67 million euros in April and almost 100 million euros in May of 2025.
Starting in June 2025 and continuing into 2026, however, the flows decrease sharply. Thus, the levels in the second part of 2025 and those in the first months of 2026 are significantly lower than those in the peak period. The change indicates that the phenomenon identified in the first part of the year has been diminished, including by intensifying the control and monitoring measures initiated by the Ministry of Finance.
At the same time, the control body of the Ministry of Finance and the Romanian Customs Authority are currently carrying out control actions that include, among the objectives, the verification of compliance with the legal provisions and internal rules regarding the control of cash entering or leaving the European Union, respectively the management of the single form used when declaring cash at the Community border, for the period 2024-2025.
The heads of ONPCSB and Customs, dismissed in recent months
None of the persons in charge of the National Office for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering (ONPCSB) and the responsible offices of the Romanian Customs Authority during the verified period no longer hold management positions today, having been dismissed during the last months.
“The reform of the Romanian Customs Authority and the strengthening of the control mechanisms represent one of the great strategic priorities of Romania. We need real risk analysis capacity, modern monitoring tools and effective institutional cooperation, so that Romania can prevent and combat the vulnerabilities associated with cross-border financial flows“, declared the Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare.
The detailed report of the findings and analyzes carried out was sent to the competent authorities in the field of economic-financial crime investigation, in order to capitalize on the information and arrange the necessary legal measures.
The Ministry of Finance reaffirms its commitment to strengthening the mechanisms to prevent and combat money laundering, strengthening the analysis and control capacity at Romania's borders and supporting institutional cooperation to protect the integrity of the financial system and economic security.
