Presidential2024/ Candidates' assets: substantial pensions and salaries, jewellery, paintings, gold bars, accounts at home and abroad

Properties in Romania and abroad, substantial pensions and salaries, jewellery, paintings, gold bars, bank accounts in Romania and abroad are all included in the wealth declarations filed by the 14 candidates in this year's presidential elections.   The top of wealth is led by Ana Birchall ( residences in Romania and the US, jewellery worth 65,000 euros, gold bars worth 411,000 euro, bonds of almost half a million euro and 23 million euro – financial investments abroad) followed by Mircea Geoana (accounts in the country and abroad worth 600,000 euro, two apartments, furniture, icons, paintings, art and cult objects, jewellery), Alexandra Pacuraru (two luxury vehicles, art collections, icons, paintings, jewellery, all worth 100,000 euro; shares with a company worth 6.2 million lei), Kelemen Hunor (three houses, five pieces of land, four cars and 180,000 euro in accounts), Cristian Terhes (four pieces of land, three apartments, banking accounts with almost 175,000 euro) and Calin Georgescu (bank deposits worth 264,000 euro).As for income, Mircea Geoana is the first with an annual salary of 250,000 euro received from NATO followed by Ana Birchall with income of over 100,000 euro from Nuclearelectrica, MEP Cristian Terhes with 93,000 euro and Kelemen Hunor with income of 81,000 euro.Out of the 14 candidates, four benefit from pensions paid by the Romanian state: Nicolae Ciuca (from MapN – 232,920 lei/yearly), Silviu Predoiu (MapN – 229,140 lei annually)Cristian Diaconescu ( MAE – 110,400 lei annually), Mircea Geoana (MAE – 104,000 lei annually).George Simion does not have any movable or immovable property in his declaration of assets, and the independent candidate Sebastian Constantin Popescu had no income in the last year. We present the wealth declarations of the 14 candidates in the order in which they are listed on the ballot paper: *** ELENA LASCONI - Uniunea Salvati Romania (USR)In her declaration of assets filed in September, Elena Lasconi mentioned seven pieces of land (two agricultural plots - 57,500 square metres, one forest plot - 2,500 square metres, three plots of land - 6,700 square metres and one 500 square metres of land outside the country), three apartments (65 square metres, 70 square metres, 58 square metres), a 98 square metre house, and a 2007 Opel car. She has granted a loan of 33,000 lei to USR and has contracted loans totalling over 410,000 lei.   In terms of income, Elena Lasconi said that she earned 150,717 lei as mayor of Campulung, while her husband earned 75,600 lei in the last fiscal year, as a counsellor at the Chamber of Deputies. *** GEORGE SIMION - Alianta pentru Unirea Romanilor (AUR)Leader of AUR has no properties, mentioning in his declaration of assets only the sum of 60,000 euro received during the baptism party organised in Gura Humorului, Suceava county, as well as the annual salary from the Deputies’ Chamber, worth 137,402 lei.Simion’s wife worth in the ministry of education and got a salary of 8,250 lei. *** MARCEL CIOLACU - Partidul Social Democrat (PSD)The current Prime Minister listed in his wealth declaration that his family owns two plots of land (387 square metres and 61 square metres) and two houses in BuzAu (281 square metres and 43 square metres), as well as several bank accounts with more than 114,000 lei.   Recently, Marcel Ciolacu admitted that he and his wife had made a voluntary partition, but that they are not divorced. In his declaration of assets submitted to the Central Electoral Office in September, he appears as the sole owner of the 43 sqm house and 61 sqm of land.   The Prime Minister granted a loan to his nephew Mihai-Cristian Ciolacu - 435,000 lei, information that appears in the declaration of assets filed as Prime Minister in June 2024. In the wealth declaration filed in September with the BEC, the amount of the loan is 490,000 lei.   He also owns shares worth 3,010 lei in Alcom SRL and has three loans to be repaid totalling 35,000 lei.   In terms of income, Ciolacu mentioned the MP's allowance - 75,000 lei, the Prime Minister's allowance - 102,000 lei, while his wife, Roxana Mihaela Ciolacu, had an annual salary of 54,000 lei at Lucia Com 94 SRL Buzau.   *** NICOLAE CIUCa- Partidul National Liberal (PNL)The PNL leader owns two plots of land (2,829 square metres and 598 square metres), a house (232 square metres), two cars (Toyota Corolla and Toyota Rav 4) and almost 340,000 lei in his accounts.   Ciuca also mentioned in his wealth declaration a loan of 100,000 lei, maturing in 2025. According to his latest declaration of assets, he received an allowance for the position of Prime Minister (January - June 2023) worth 105,991 lei and for the position of President of the Senate (January - December 2023) worth over 94,000 lei.   To these incomes must be added the service pension received from the Ministry of Defence - 232,920 lei (annual income), while his wife had an annual pension of 69,000 lei, also from the MApN.   *** HUNOR KELEMEN - Uniunea Democrat a Maghiara din Romania (UDMR)The President of the UDMR owns, together with his family, two houses in Cluj County (both with the same surface area - 119.85 square metres) and a house in Harghita County (200 square metres), five plots of land in Cluj and Harghita Counties (two agricultural plots - 4,711 square metres and three intravilan plots - 2,000 square metres) and four cars (Ford, Skoda, Toyota and Honda).   He mentions paintings by contemporary artists worth €6,000 and has about 860,000 lei and more than €10,000 in his accounts. Kelemen Hunor's salary as deputy prime minister was 115,170 lei, plus 220,008 lei as president/member of the UDMR and 72,277 lei as MP, while his wife had a salary of 140,000 lei from the UDMR. In addition to this income, the two children of the family received a scholarship of 1,260 lei from the Bethlen Gabor Foundation - Budapest.     *** MIRCEA GEOANa- independent candidateThe former NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General owns two apartments in Bucharest (98 sqm and 210 sqm); a 1,000 sqm plot of land in Corbeanca; two Lexus cars; furniture, wooden icons, paintings (75,000 lei); decorative objects in silver, crystal, bronze, porcelain and glass (65,000 lei); art and cult objects, jewellery (350,000 lei).   Also in 2024, he sold an apartment for €220,000 and donated a car valued at €40,000.   Mircea Geoana has several accounts, including two opened with banks in Romania (737,000 lei and €50,000), another opened with a bank in Belgium (€255,000) and a fund managed by NATO totalling €167,000.   He personally granted a loan of 80,000 euro, owns shares in Montel Residence SRL, worth 702,000 lei, and bonds issued by the Romanian State - 25,000 dollars. He owns low value shares in Top Cont SRL, SC Apoapsis Education Group SRL, MG International Strategic Consulting Group SRL. As for income, Geoana declared an annual salary from NATO worth 240,000 euro, pension from MAE worth 104,000 lei, plus 28,000 representing royalties – Grup Media Litera SRL.According to his declaration of assets, his wife, Mihaela Geoana got the sum of 9,939 lei as expert with SC.Renasterea SRL, 152,000 lei as expert European Funds with Fundatia Renasterea, 45,000 lei from rents, 25,000 lei dividends with Top Cont SRL and 14,500 lei dividends with MG International Strategic Consulting Group SRL.   *** ANA BIRCHALL - independent candidateCandidate Ana Birchall mentioned in her declaration of assets that she owns three plots of land in Dorna Arini in Suceava County (total area - 37.000 sqm) and one hectare of agricultural land in Fulga de Jos (Prahova County), two apartments in Bucharest (50 sqm and 304 sqm), an apartment in New York (180 sqm), a holiday home in Dorna Arini (240 sqm) and a house in New Haven - USA (250 sqm), plus jewellery valued at 65,000 euros and gold bars worth 411,000 euros, as well as several bank accounts in Romania and the United States of America. Equally substantial are the investments in bonds issued by the Romanian state, with a cumulative value of 140,000 lei, 98,000 euro and 363,000 dollars.   The declaration of assets also includes the sum of 23 million euro representing financial investments abroad in private "unlisted securities" companies. In terms of income, Ana Birchall mentioned a salary of 536,000 lei received as director of Nuclearelectrica, the sums of 7,275 lei, 2,470 euro and 15,255 dollars representing the receipt of government securities coupons, plus 48,000 dollars for the use of US real estate and 18,000 lei - for the use of Romania.   According to the declaration of assets submitted to the BEC in October by Ana Birchall, under the heading "gifts, services or advantages received free of charge or subsidised in relation to the market value, from persons, organisations, commercial companies, autonomous regions, national companies/corporations or Romanian or foreign public institutions, including scholarships, loans, guarantees, expense settlements, other than those of the employer" - a salary of 1,200,000 dollars is mentioned in her husband's entitlement.   *** ALEXANDRA BEATRICE BERTALAN-PACURARU - Partidul Alternativa pentru Demnitate NationalaA former TV presenter, the daughter of businessman Maricel PAcuraru (owner of Realitatea TV), listed in her declaration of assets a house (158 sqm) and a plot of land of 1,000 square metres, two cars (Jaguar F Pace and MBW IX), art collections (valued at €15,000), icons (valued at €20,000), paintings (€15,000) and jewellery (€50,000).   In terms of income, Alexandra PAcuraru mentioned an annual salary of 240,000 lei received for her work as a producer for Realitatea TV, while her husband received 54,000 lei in rent for a house in Domnesti.   In her declaration of interests, Alexandra PAcuraru stated that she is a founder-associate of Grup Financiar SA in Galati, where the value of the shares held is 6.2 million lei; SC ABP Consulting SRL in the village of Ostratu (Ilfov), where she is also a director; Geopol International SRL; Prestige Media PHG SRL (Galati), Strategies Research Investments International SA, SC Strategic Metals Investments SRL.   *** SEBASTIAN CONSTANTIN POPESCU - Partidul Noua RomanieIn his declaration of interests, the candidate did not mention any income over the last year, in exchange he owns a house of 78 sqm in Fauresti, Valcea County, an intravilan plot of 2,426 sqm and other 13 agricultural plots in the same locality, with a cumulated surface of over 18,000 sqm, under the heading ‚mode of acquisition’ ‚maintenance contract’. *** LUDOVIC ORBAN - Forta DrepteiLudovic Orban owns a house in Ilfov county, 200 sqm, a Volkswagen (2007), four bank deposits of 56,000 lei and 42,000 lei.Over the last year, he received an MP allowance worth 131,000 lei.   *** CALIN GEORGESCU - independent candidateHe owns, together with his family an intravilan plot in Brasov county of over 3,900 sqm, bought in 2022, a Toyota (2022) and bank deposits of 264,000 euro in two accounts, both opened in 2021.Over the last fiscal year, a salary of 72,000 lei from University of Pitesti, Faculty of Science, worth 72,000 lei and his wife had an annual salary of 25,458 lei. *** CRISTIAN DIACONESCU - independent candidateFormer Minister of Justice and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cristian Diaconescu and his family own two plots of land - one in Bucharest (360 square metres), the other in Stalpeni (Arges) with an area of 2,400 square metres, two houses in Bucharest (494 square metres) and Stalpeni (190 square metres) and an apartment in Bucharest (110 square metres).He also owns two cars (Ford Fiesta and Hyundai Tucson), three inherited paintings worth an estimated €6,000, as well as several bank loans totalling more than 230,000 lei and €13,000.   In the last year, Cristian Diaconescu received a pension of 110,400 lei from the MAE and 8,475 lei - for courses at the Calea Victoriei Foundation, while his wife had a pension of 190,000 lei. *** CRISTIAN TERHES - Partidul National Conservator RomanCurrently MEP, Cristian Terhes mentioned in his declaration of assets two plots of land (90 square metres) and two plots of land (2,000 square metres) located in the counties of SAlaj and Bihor, three apartments (53 square metres, 81 square metres and 53 square metres), two cars (Toyota Camry and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross), six bank accounts of his (about 800,000 lei and 17,000 euro) and six of his wife (about 7,000 lei, 8,000 euro and 35,000 dollars), some of which are opened in banks in the US state of California.   Terhes offered four loans to Partidul National Conservator Roman with a cumulated worth of 160,000 lei and 45,000 euro. He has in his declaration of assets shares Fidelity owned by his wife – 21,000 dollars and securities at Treasury Direct – 315,000 dollars.In terms of income, Cristian Terhes declared an annual salary from the European Parliament of €93,000 and his wife has an annual salary of $48,000 as "AR and compliance manager" at General Orthocare, Irvine, California, USA. *** SILVIU PREDOIU - Partidul Liga Actiunii NationaleFormer deputy director and acting director of the Foreign Intelligence Service until 2018, Silviu Predoiu owns two apartments in Bucharest (73 sqm and 77 sqm) and a 115 sqm holiday home, plus two plots of land (14 sqm and 1,162 sqm) and 5 hectares of agricultural land in Constanta County.   He also owns two cars (Mazda CX5 and Fiat 850), watches worth €7,000 and seven bank accounts with 74,000 lei, €52,000 and $32,000.   In terms of income, Silviu Predoiu mentioned a service pension of 229,140 lei (MApN pension office) and his wife a service pension of 96,012 lei (SRI pension office).