BUCHAREST -- In Romania, at least, Bogdan Peschir was known as the "king of TikTok," a mystery man involved in cryptocurrency operations and noted for his generous donations to the platform’s users.
But now Peschir, a 36-year-old programmer reportedly leading a lavish lifestyle, has emerged as a central figure in the claims that far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu benefitted from secretive influence campaigns, including from Russia.
Georgescu was the surprise winner of the first round of Romania's presidential election on November 24, where from relative obscurity he won 23 percent of the vote. His win had set up a second-round contest against pro-Western centrist Elena Lasconi, but Romania’s Constitutional Court on December 6 annulled the election, leaving the government to set a new date for the presidential ballot.
Political analysts were scratching their heads at the runaway success of Georgescu, 62, an agricultural engineer who has campaigned on a pro-Russian and anti-NATO platform. Many attributed his surprise result in large part to his TikTok campaign, which attracted the votes of many young people and members of Romania's diaspora.
As suspicions about the TikTok campaign mounted, Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense on December 4 -- four days before the now-cancelled December 8 runoff -- declassified intelligence records alleging that Georgescu had benefited from a coordinated social media campaign most likely orchestrated by a "state actor."
Some 25,000 TikTok accounts were used to boost Georgescu's popularity, with influencers on the platform enlisted to publicly support him and indirectly promote him with posts that included hashtags linked to the candidate, the declassified records state. Georgescu has said that he spent "zero" on election campaigning.
Peschir was a notable facilitator of that campaign, according to the intelligence records.
Using his TikTok handle "bogpr," the records allege, he "made payments worth $381,000 between October 24 and November 24, 2024, to users of some TikTok accounts involved in promoting the candidate Calin Georgescu, including after the end of the electoral campaign," a violation of Romanian legislation.
Peschir has since denied financing Georgescu’s campaign, saying that while some of his donations went to the candidate’s supporters, others went to charity, apolitical TikTok accounts, and accounts supporting other candidates.
He told RFE/RL on December 6 that he has no connection whatsoever with Georgescu.
“I do not have any material or personal interest, I simply supported him through posts and comments voluntarily,” he said in written comments.
“That document only mentions [Georgescu] supporters, which seems absurd to me. I made no agreement with any people that I would donate to support one candidate or another,” Peschir added.
In a Facebook post on December 6, shortly before the election was annulled, Peschir accused the media of harassment and threatened legal action.
Responding to a question in the comments section about where the money came from, Peschir wrote that it’s “none of your business.”
“I am not a person who works for the state, or with the state, to declare my income publicly,” he wrote.
Peschir’s post was one of a handful on his sparse Facebook page, among them posts about Georgescu as early as 2020, in which the then-obscure future presidential candidate railed against government measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, which he called "the pandemic of fear and stupidity.”
Allegedly Incongruous 'Standard Of Living'
In recent months, the "bogpr" account became platform-famous for lavishing significant donations on TikTok creators, amassing more than 191,000 followers and 1.1 million likes.
In March, he donated tens of thousands of euros to singers of manele, a genre of pop folk originating in Romania, prompting speculation about his identity and motives. Some TikTok users posited that he could be the famous son of a wealthy business tycoon or a member of a criminal clan.
In November, "bogpr" began donating money to Romanian influencers in support of Georgescu. More than 100 influencers with a combined total of over 8 million followers took part, according to a declassified document originating from the Interior Ministry. The promotional posts were not marked as part of a paid political campaign.
Despite trying to keep his identity a secret, his cover was recently blown by the Romanian tabloid Gandul, which identified "bogpr" as Peschir.
According to his online profile, Peschir has spent the bulk of his career in cryptocurrencies, mostly with companies involving the same associates, including Gabriel Prodanescu, a Romanian who obtained South African citizenship in 1995.
One of these companies, the Romanian firm BitXATM Technology, was founded 12 years ago and has been involved in the operation of crypto ATMs – devices that allow one to buy cryptocurrency with cash or, in some cases, receive cash in exchange for cryptocurrency.
Company filings show that BitXATM Technology reported no employees, no turnover, and no profit last year while reporting around $300,000 in debt.
Stolen Cryptocurrency
In 2016, BitXATM found itself at the center of a scandal when several of its crypto ATMs were compromised and clients’ cryptocurrency was stolen. Gabriel Prodanescu accused a former employee of the theft. The following year, Romania authorities arrested a man from the Transylvanian city of Brasov who was subsequently convicted after a trial in which Bogdan Peschir testified.
Posts on Bitcoin-related online forums claimed that at least some BitXATM clients were unable to recover their funds. After the scandal, BitXATM’s website ceased updating, and Prodanescu opened a cryptocurrency company of the same name – as well as another called Globaya LTD – in Britain. Peschir’s LinkedIn page lists him as a Globaya employee.
A jobs-listing site features a profile of a man with the username Bogdan Peschir who lists BitXATM and another crypto-related brand, mTicket, as places where he has worked. RFE/RL located social-media posts for both of these brands featuring photographs of a man who resembles the man in the job listing. RFE/RL sent one of these images to Peschir and asked him about the person and the company shown in the photograph, but he did not reply.
The declassified intelligence records said Peschir "displays a standard of living that does not correspond to the activities carried out through the company he owns." He lives, according to Romanian media reports, in a swanky villa in an exclusive part of Brasov, with a BMW and a Porsche in the garage. RFE/RL was able to geolocate photos of this villa and confirm that they were taken in Brasov.
In written comments to RFE/RL, Peschir rejected the thrust of the intelligence records’ statement about his standard of living.
“I have income from other sources, completely legal, that are declared and taxed,” Peschir said.
The Romanian intelligence documents mention both Prodanescu and a South African company called FA Agency, which the records allege was offering 1,000 euros ($1,047) to influencers to distribute a video clip in support of Georgescu's candidacy.
RFE/RL contacted a self-described "influencer agency" of that name that says it operates in South Africa, asking about the company's alleged role in the operation and its links to Peschir and Prodanescu, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Attempts to reach Prodanescu for comment were unsuccessful. Asked by RFE/RL for an interview, Peschir responded only with a link to his previously published comments.
'I Don't Even Know Georgescu'
The December 6 Constitutional Court ruling annulling the presidential election was followed by an announcement from Romanian prosecutors that a probe into alleged computer-related crimes has been launched amid allegations of Russian influence.
Russia's exact role in the alleged TikTok influence operation is unclear.
According to the intelligence documents, TikTok notified the Romanian authorities that it had identified a network of accounts affiliated with the Russian state news agency Sputnik that targeted users from Romania and Moldova.
The documents also claimed that user access data for electoral websites was stolen and posted online on "cyber-crime platforms that originated from Russia." The Kremlin has denied any interference in Romania's elections.
Neither Peschir nor his associates were linked to Russia in the intelligence reports.
After his identity was made public, Peschir posted on TikTok that he was a "Romanian entrepreneur and investor" and had not been promised or paid anything for his support for Georgescu.
"I don't even know [Georgescu] personally, and I don't feel that endorsing a cause that I support is unethical," he wrote. He also compared it to how Elon Musk helped U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's campaign with massive financial backing and by endorsing him on X and in his speeches.
Peschir also doubled down on his support for the presidential candidate, saying, "The attacks on the system…motivate me even more to support Calin Georgescu," and describing the far-right politician as "the right choice for the people."
