The Iași Tribunal on Wednesday, 21 October, ordered the pre-trial detention of the developer Ștefan Adrian Popescu jr., 33. News.ro reported that evening. The measure is not a conviction. The ruling is not final and can be challenged.

Ziarul de Iași, citing the court record, writes that the detention is for 30 days, from 21 October through 19 November inclusive, and that the challenge window is 48 hours. The developer had been held on Tuesday, 20 October, for 24 hours after hearings at the Iași Criminal Investigations Service.

He is under investigation for continued fraud, 27 material acts, and for improper participation in fraud by inducing others, also continued, another five acts. Investigators speak of estimated damage of about seven million euros. That estimate is not a figure set by a sentence.

Police say that in 2023–2026 some units in a building in Iași municipality were allegedly promised for sale at least twice, to natural or legal persons. Ziarul de Iași identifies the Nueva project, on Șoseaua Nicolina, developed through STP Business Construct SRL, a company administered by Popescu jr.

On Tuesday five home-search warrants were executed in Iași, under a prosecutor from the Iași Tribunal prosecutor’s office. Officers seized evidence, including from the family home and the company office, according to the local paper.

Buyers have complained of advances paid for homes which, they say, were also promised to others. The complaints remain under investigation. Individual sums reported in the press are not a figure set by a court.

Pre-trial detention is a procedural measure. It is not a finding of guilt and it is not the same case as other property scandals already reported on this site.

Image: Vlad Serban, Iasi Tribunal, 15 April 2003, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; the building in 2003, not Wednesday hearing.

Sources consulted: Iasi: Property developer accused of selling the same flats to several people placed in pre-trial detention - News.ro, 21 October 2026; Nueva block developer in Iasi placed in 30-day pre-trial detention - Ziarul de Iasi, 21 October 2026.