Bucharest Mayor and former Sector 6 mayor Ciprian Ciucu is being investigated by Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) over allegations that he received electoral advertising and political consulting services in exchange for supporting administrative procedures related to a real estate project. The alleged acts were reportedly committed while Ciucu was serving as mayor of Sector 6.
Documents and urban planning records reviewed by NewsCenter.ro indicate that the investigation originated from a separate case involving Romania’s gambling industry, in which Odeta Nestor and TV personality Denise Rifai (Rifai Mariam-Denise, who reportedly also holds Bulgarian citizenship) became involved.
Update: NewsCenter.ro initially reported that the electoral promotion allegedly received by Ciprian Ciucu had been displayed on billboards belonging to an online casino. However, representatives of the gambling industry later assured the publication that the Mayor of Bucharest did not receive electoral promotion on billboards owned or leased by an online gambling operator.
NewsCenter.ro reconstructed the case through its own journalistic investigation. The information was obtained through the analysis of official documents, corporate registry records, DNA statements, and commercial documents relating to companies active in the gambling sector.
According to DNA prosecutors, Ciprian Ciucu is currently under judicial supervision on suspicion of accepting bribes in a case that was separated from a broader investigation that initially targeted the activities of gambling operators.
TV personality Denise Rifai involved in corruption investigation
According to the DNA statement, one of the individuals involved in the investigation is Mariam-Denise Rifai. The information released by prosecutors indicates that several persons identified by the initials R.D.M. appear in the case file. In one instance, R.D.M. is described as a “person without special procedural status” investigated for the offense of bribery.
In other sections of the statement, R.D.M. – identified as Denise Mariam Rifai — is referred to as a defendant.
Representatives of Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) told NewsCenter.ro that they could not provide further details because they did not have access to that information.
“Only the case prosecutor knows those details. I do not even know all the names you are asking about,” was one of the responses received by NewsCenter.ro from DNA officials.
Denise Rifai was summoned to DNA headquarters on Friday, June 19, and arrived at approximately 6:00 p.m.
Documents reviewed by NewsCenter.ro show that she is publicly known as Denise Rifai and that her full name appears in several corporate records linked to companies controlled by her family, including A.G.-Chim Trading-Company SRL, Be.Agchim SRL, and Communication Consulting Group SRL.
The initials and identity referenced by DNA match the information identified by our publication in official documents.
According to information obtained by NewsCenter.ro, Denise Rifai began cooperating with investigators after her close associate, Odeta Nestor, became the target of an investigation concerning activities in the gambling industry. Denise Rifai has denied filing the complaint that triggered the case. Nevertheless, she appeared at DNA headquarters on Friday.
Odeta Nestor allegedly offered bribes to an ONJN employee who cooperated with DNA
DNA alleges that Odeta Cristinela Nestor repeatedly provided money to an official from Romania’s National Gambling Office (ONJN) in exchange for accelerating or delaying administrative procedures and obtaining access to non-public information.
According to prosecutors, between April 2 and April 6, 2026, Odeta Cristinela Nestor “facilitated the acceptance, on April 7, 2026, by a public official within the National Gambling Office, acting as an authorized collaborator in the case, of the promise of a total sum of €100,000 made by Denise Rifai on behalf of and in the interest of an economic operator active in the gambling industry, with the purpose of ensuring that inspections initiated by the institution would be concluded in a manner that would prevent the imposition of any of the supplementary sanctions provided by Government Emergency Ordinance No. 77/2009.”
In short, according to the DNA statement, Odeta Nestor allegedly facilitated the bribe, while Denise Rifai allegedly acted on behalf of the gambling operator involved in the investigation.
It should also be noted that, according to information obtained by NewsCenter.ro, Odeta Nestor was allegedly not intervening on behalf of the online casino businesses she is associated with, but rather for two Bulgarian companies operating in Romania. These include the largest slot machine operator currently active on the Romanian market and an online betting company that has sponsored Dinamo Bucharest.
DNA further stated:
“Regarding the promise of the €100,000 benefit offered as a bribe, it was established that on June 8, 2026, and June 17, 2026, Denise Rifai (R.D.M.) allegedly delivered €45,000 and €5,000 respectively, while on June 16, 2026, she allegedly delivered the remaining €50,000, at which point investigators documented the offense in flagrante delicto.”
The ONJN official identified in the statement as an authorized collaborator of the investigation is believed to be an employee of the institution’s Control Directorate. As NewsCenter.ro does not have definitive confirmation of the individual’s identity, we have chosen not to publish the name.
On June 17, 2026, Odeta Cristinela Nestor was placed in pretrial detention for 30 days.
Odeta Nestor allegedly needed permits for real estate projects
According to information obtained by NewsCenter.ro, Odeta Nestor allegedly facilitated meetings between several businessmen and Sector 6 Mayor Ciprian Ciucu in order to obtain urban planning permits and approvals connected to a real estate project reportedly linked to Israeli investors.
Prosecutors have not disclosed the identities of the businessmen involved, nor have they specified whether they have any connection to the gambling industry.
According to G4Media, Sector 6 City Hall issued a building permit to Safe Home Invest SRL for the construction of a three-level parking structure (Basement + Ground Floor + First Floor), part of the “Ajustorului Residence” residential complex.
The publication reported that this appears to be the only urban planning authorization issued in favor of the company between December 2025 and the moment prosecutors officially announced the opening of the separate criminal investigation.
Corporate records of Safe Home Invest SRL show that ownership is equally divided among three Romanian citizens of Jordanian origin. According to the cited source, they were identified as Moh D Nabeel Kh A, Moh D Moh, and Yuan Ștefan. Their names closely resemble the initials mentioned in the DNA statement (MNKA, MM, and SI). However, one of the shareholders strongly denied any involvement in the criminal case.
Speaking after leaving DNA headquarters, Ciprian Ciucu stated that he is innocent and that he never requested money. He added that if anyone had sought benefits in his name, they had done so without his knowledge. Ciucu did not respond to questions sent by NewsCenter.ro.
From Government official to gambling industry executive
Odeta Nestor is one of the best-known figures in Romania’s gambling industry. Between 2013 and 2015, she headed the National Gambling Office (ONJN), the government authority responsible for regulating and supervising the gambling market.
After leaving public office, she became president of the Remote Gambling Operators Association (AOJND), one of the main organizations representing the interests of online betting and gaming operators.
UPDATE, June 22. In the initial version of the article regarding this case, NewsCenter.ro also included information about Odeta Nestor’s activities in the gambling industry in Romania and abroad. The article further contained information concerning the alleged electoral promotion that Bucharest Sector 6 Mayor Ciprian Ciucu was purported to have received.
As the information regarding the alleged electoral promotion could not be independently verified at this stage, it resulted in inaccurate reporting to our readers. For this reason, we have decided to remove those passages and acknowledge our reporting error.
At the same time, because the information concerning Odeta Nestor’s professional activities and business associates was included solely to explain the alleged electoral promotion, we have also decided to remove that section of the article, as it is no longer relevant in the context of the information that has been withdrawn.
