A lawyer from a shadowy group named after Vlad the Impaler met with the deputy Russian military attache at a Bucharest restaurant to plot the overthrow of the Romanian state, according to prosecution documents seen by RFE/RL’s Romanian service.

The alleged meeting, in late January, lasted no more than 30 minutes.

The next day, the lawyer, Adrian Robertin Dinu, and another man, Slavic studies professor Marius Semeniuc, boarded a flight to Istanbul, where they transferred to their final destination –- Moscow.

Dinu and Semeniuc have since been arrested. They are part of a group of six men accused of treason on March 6.

The Russian, Colonel Yevgeny Ignatiev, was expelled from Romania for espionage on March 5, along with his boss.

The case has been somewhat overshadowed as Romania is rocked by political tensions following the move by Romanian authorities to ban politician Calin Georgescu from running in presidential elections.

The Constitutional Court had annulled the results of the previous election in November, when Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner after the first round of voting, amid accusations of Russian meddling.

RFE/RL has seen evidence that Dinu is a supporter of Georgescu, but no proof that Georgescu worked with the group. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'A Militarized Structure'

Dinu and Semeniuc are men with esoteric interests and, apparently, bold imaginations.

Semeniuc presents himself as the leader of the Union of Subcarpathian Ruthenians of Romania, a group set up in 2000 to promote the ethnic group’s culture. His Facebook profile has a Ruthenian flag and his name spelt in Cyrillic text.

Dinu claims to lead a group calling itself the Vlad The Impaler Command, named after the 15th century Transylvanian nobleman who was the inspiration for Dracula. In Romania he is often associated with being a leader who fought against rich and corrupt landowners.

Prosecutors say it claims 10,000 followers, while a group member told RFE/RL it had several thousand.

"The people under investigation have a militarized structure, with a clearly established hierarchy. Meetings between members of the group are conducted in a conspiratorial manner, including taking counter-informative measures," according to the prosecution document seen by RFE/RL.

Romanian prosecutors say that after Dinu and Semeniuc arrived in Moscow, they held a meeting with two men and handed over 5,000 euros for translation and facilitation services.

The first man, who allegedly took the payoff, was Petro Ghetsko, a Ukrainian citizen who faces a 20-year jail sentence in Ukraine for endangering national security. He also claims to lead a Ruthenian group and to be prime minister of a nonexistent “Sub-Carpathian Republic” in western Ukraine.

The second man was Igor Mashkov. Romanian prosecutors wrote: “There is a reasonable suspicion about the contact persons in Moscow that they are agents of the Russian Federation.”

Romanian prosecutors say that Dinu and Semeniuc went to Moscow to present a 10-point plan to seize power. This would begin by spreading criticism online of Romania’s pro-Western status quo, infiltration of state structures, and climax with a mass rally (“minimum two million people”) leading to a coup.

It sounds like the work of fantasists, but Romanian prosecutors appear to be taking it seriously amid an already volatile political situation.

In an online video cited by prosecutors, Dinu said the plan was supported by the “friendly embassies” of Russia, China, and Iran.

Furthermore, on February 20, just a few weeks after the Moscow trip, members of the Vlad the Impaler group were photographed at a Russian Embassy reception in Bucharest. Three of them are among the group now charged with treason. The other man was 102-year-old retired general Radu Theodoru, a Holocaust denier and Stalin admirer who was also briefly detained but not charged.

Romanian investigators say they gathered evidence on the group via wire taps and infiltration. They say they have a recording of one suspect, Raul Lupu, saying that other group leaders are “in league with” banned presidential candidate Georgescu.

In an online video, Dinu describes Georgescu as “the elected president” and promises to appoint him to the post after seizing power.

The decision to annul the November election was condemned last month by US Vice President JD Vance, who said it was based on the "flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors."

Romanian authorities have now barred Georgescu from taking part in a new election scheduled for May.

Georgescu is a vocal critic of NATO and has opposed Romania’s support for Ukraine. When the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously to maintain his ban on running for president on March 11, he posted an online video saying that “the system does not accept anyone outside of it.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied Russia has any links to Georgescu and stated that barring him from the May election would render the vote illegitimate.

The turmoil comes amid mounting evidence of malign and covert Russian activities in Europe.

Last week, three Bulgarians were found guilty by a court in London of spying for Russia. Three other Bulgarians had already pleaded guilty. The group operated across Europe, carrying out surveillance of journalists and military installations, as well as plotting murder.

Meanwhile, RFE/RL investigations have revealed efforts by Russia to appoint diplomats expelled for spying to key diplomatic positions with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

In Paris this week, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of Russian efforts to destabilize Moldova.

Lawyers for four of the men charged with treason in Romania told RFE/RL their clients were innocent.

Dinu’s lawyer, Valentin Rachiteanu, said “he thought it was a joke,” adding: “He never had the idea of a conspiracy, so he considers himself innocent.”

Lawyers representing Semeniuc and one other defendant did not respond to our inquiries.