Romania holds a presidential election Sunday that could narrow to nationalist and leftist candidates

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — At the campaign headquarters of his far-right nationalist party in Romania's capital, George Simion hailed Donald Trump’s reelection days before he runs in his own country's presidential race. He also denied allegations that he is a Russian spy.

“I would like for Romanians to feel that the leaders are rule-makers, not simply rule-takers,” the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians leader told reporters Wednesday in Bucharest. Formed in 2019, the party known by its initials AUR proclaims to stand for “family, nation, faith, and freedom.”

The 38-year-old candidate, who is banned from entering Moldova and Ukraine over security concerns, strongly denied "all the allegations regarding any kind of connections with the Russian intelligence officers.”

Sunday’s presidential election has 13 candidates and is expected to go to a Dec. 8 runoff, potentially pitting Simion against Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who is backed by Romania's largest party, the Social Democratic Party, or PSD.

The European Union and NATO member country will also hold parliamentary elections Dec. 1 that will determine Romania's next government and prime minister. The presidential role carries a five-year term and has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security and foreign policy.

Ciolacu told The Associated Press he has a “clear plan for a more developed Romania that leaves no one behind, an internal plan based on economic growth on investments and a plan for a more respected and influential Romania abroad.”

“Unfortunately, we have political leaders who challenge our presence in the EU and NATO … I believe that extremists must be politically isolated and not taken into account by any government,” the PSD leader added.

Besides Ciolacu and Simion, other key candidates are Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party, former NATO deputy general secretary Mircea Geoana, who is running independently, and Nicolae Ciuca, a former army general and prime minister of the center-right National Liberal Party, which is currently in a tense coalition with the PSD.

Claudiu Tufis, an associate professor of political science at the University of Bucharest, said polling data ahead of the race were unreliable, because “there’s a lot of attempts to generate a particular outcome.”

“All that I can say for sure is that it’s probably going to be a fight between Simion and Lasconi," Tufis said. "I think it depends on the mobilization both within Romania and outside Romania.”

Some voters feel that none of the candidates in Sunday’s race is addressing issues they view as significant.

“I think we are in a situation where an economic and social crisis is more and more present in our lives,” said Catrinel Toncu, a 24-year-old anthropology student. “I don’t see any discussion on upcoming systemic changes. ... Each of them is problematic, in my opinion.”

Simion has long been a figure of controversy. He campaigned for reunification with Moldova, which this year renewed a five-year ban on him entering the country. In 2020, the AUR party went from relative obscurity to gaining 9% in a parliamentary vote, allowing it to enter parliament.

Opponents have accused Simion and AUR of being extremist. In 2022, Israel’s ambassador to Romania condemned AUR for opposing a mandate for studying the Holocaust in Romania, which it deemed a “minor issue.” The party opposes same-sex marriage and has close ties to the Romanian Orthodox Church.

At his party's campaign headquarters, Simion called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a war criminal” and said Western sanctions against Russia “were not enough.” But he also said he opposes Romania — which has sent a Patriot missile system to Ukraine — contributing further military aid to its war-torn neighbor.

“I am not a fan of continuing the war, and I hope that President-elect Trump will stop this war," he said.

Tufis said Trump’s reelection could bolster support for Simion, who has praised him. “Trump is a disruptor, and Simion to some extent can be thought of in this way — as disruptors of the political system,” he said.

After Russia fully invaded Ukraine in 2022, Romania has played an increasingly prominent role in NATO, including opening a training hub for F-16 jet pilots from allied countries and other partners, including Ukraine.

Geoana, a former foreign minister and ambassador to the United States, told the AP that he believes his international experience qualifies him above the other candidates.

“I think the political establishment in Romania is lagging behind Romanian society,” he said. “We are a big country, we are strategically immensely relevant for all our partners and allies, but Romania should become a truly multi-regional player and power.”

The former NATO official also acknowledged the rise of populism, saying that people who vote “for such extreme solutions are the ones who were basically abandoned by the Romanian state and by the current political establishment, the ones in the small cities in Romania, the ones in the countryside.”

Presidential hopeful Lasconi, a former journalist and the leader of USR, told the AP she wants to "get rid of this label of us being a corrupt and poor country.” She also vowed to prioritize pushing for Romania’s full accession to the Schengen area, Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone.

“In all of the state institutions, the politicians, corruption is the biggest problem we are facing,” she said. “A few dozen of politicians that keep coming back ... who try to fill their pockets as much as possible, but do nothing for the people."

One of the main conditions of Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007 was that it cracked down on endemic corruption. But it remains one of the bloc’s most corrupt members, according to Transparency International.

Lasconi said she favors increasing defense spending and that supporting Ukraine “to win the war” is essential. “Putin is not afraid of NATO. He is afraid of freedom. Freedom, democracy, and the rule of law are contagious,” she said. “The moment you have at your borders states where democracy works, many Russians might ask themselves questions.”

Eugen Ionescu, a 40-year-old restaurant owner, says he will be pushed to vote for a “lesser evil” in the anticipated runoff. “That’s the situation in this country for 20 years, we have to choose the lesser evil … we’re not going to vote for someone because we believe in the person.”

If Simion wins, however, he fears that “all the little stability that we have at this moment as a country will be gone.”

A banner that reads "Romania My Love" is placed above a religious icon at the campaign headquarters of former NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, who is running as an independent candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, during an interview with the Associated Press in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu addresses delegates at the congress of the Social Democratic Party or PSD, which nominated him as the party's candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, who is running as an independent candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at his campaign headquarters in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

George Simion, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians or AUR candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, attends a press conference with international media in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, who runs as an independent candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, waits outside his campaign headquarters in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

A woman sits on a chair outside the electoral campaign headquarters of George Simion, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu addresses delegates at the congress of the Social Democratic Party or PSD, which nominated him as the party's candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Elena Lasconi, the Save Romania Union or USR, party candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, gestures at an event for launching the party's program in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

George Simion, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians or AUR candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, gestures during a press conference with international media in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, who runs as an independent candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at his campaign headquarters in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Elena Lasconi, the Save Romania Union or USR, party candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, greets supporters at an event for launching the party's program in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

A large poster of Nicolae Ciuca, the National Liberal Party or PNL candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, peers from behind trees in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Nicolae Ciuca, the National Liberal Party or PNL candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, attends an event launching his presidential program in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

An electoral poster of Elena Lasconi, the Save Romania Union or USR, party candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, is placed on a fire damaged building in Farcasesti Mosneni, Romania, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Elena Lasconi, the Save Romania Union or USR, party candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

People wallk outside the electoral campaign headquarters of George Simion, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians or AUR candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

George Simion, the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians or AUR candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, gestures during a press conference in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

A man installs a large poster of Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the Social Democratic Party or PSD candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu attends the congress of the Social Democratic Party or PSD, which nominated him as the party's candidate in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

People walk by posters showing candidates in the upcoming Nov. 24 presidential elections, in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, one of Asia’s richest men, may be facing his biggest challenge yet with an indictment by U.S. prosecutors for alleged fraud and bribery. But it’s unclear just how the case will affect his businesses and own future — as well as the Indian economy and government.

On Friday, shares in some of the Adani Group's companies began ticking back up after they plunged a day earlier following the announcement of the charges in New York. The stock prices of six of his 10 listed companies rose slightly, between 1% to nearly 4%.

Adani, a major power player in India perceived as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was charged Wednesday with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud at a court in Brooklyn, New York.

The test for the tycoon and his multibillion dollar empire spawning everything from energy and ports to media and agriculture, comes just after the 62-year-old founder and his sprawling business empire had bounced back after losing more than $60 billion in market value in early 2023 following allegations of stock price manipulation and fraud by the short-selling firm Hindenburg Research.

It also raises questions about corporate governance and crony capitalism in India's economy, which Modi has vowed to make the world's third largest, intensifying scrutiny on the outsized influence of large, family-run conglomerates. Asia's richest man is another Indian billionaire, Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries.

Prosecutors allege that Adani duped investors in a massive solar project in India by concealing that it was being facilitated by bribes. Seven other executives connected to Adani’s sprawling business empire also face charges. The indictment outlines an alleged scheme to pay about $265 million in bribes to government officials in India.

The Adani group denied the allegations against directors of Adani Green Energy, its renewable energy arm, as “baseless” and said they will be seeking legal recourse. Shares in Adani's green energy venture, which is at the center of the case, dropped 8% on Friday.

None of the people charged in the case have been arrested.

“For Adani, this hits hard, no matter how you slice it. His public relations machine was in overdrive for nearly two years rehabilitating his image following the Hindenburg allegations. This indictment came like a bolt from the blue and instantly reversed all recent progress in salvaging his reputation and business empire,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center.

Adani's imprint across the Indian economy runs deep. He is the country's largest operator of coal mines and infrastructure developer, operating several ports and airports, and employs tens of thousands of people. Despite his fossil fuel roots, Adani has ambitions to become the world's largest player in renewable energy by 2030.

Analysts say a key factor in his meteoric rise over the years has been his knack for aligning his group’s priorities with those of the Modi government, investing in key industries like renewable energy, defense and agriculture. Before Modi, Adani was friendly with other parties in power.

The latest controversy is likely to put Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, seen as close to Adani, in an awkward spot. Amit Malviya, the BJP's IT head, said in a post on X that the U.S. charges are “allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty,” which critics interpreted as a show of support for the Adani group.

The main opposition party has seized on the controversy, demanding Adani's arrest and accusing Modi, who has at times campaigned using an Adani jet, of protecting him. Opposition lawmakers are likely to escalate pressure on Modi when the winter session of parliament begins next week.

The controversy has already affected Adani’s interests overseas. Kenya’s president canceled multimillion dollar deals with the Adani group for airport modernization and energy projects. Adani is likely to also face scrutiny in Bangladesh, where a court on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into an energy project.

His troubles might complicate India's ties with other countries, such as Sri Lanka, where New Delhi is competing with rival Beijing for strategically important markets.

There's no doubt this is “bad timing for New Delhi," said Kugelman, as it comes at a moment “when it’s trying to capitalize on the business world’s desire to move production out of China and find alternate investment destinations.”

As for India-U.S. ties, some analysts believe President-elect Donald Trump may intervene.

“India would like nothing more than for Trump to halt the investigation once he takes office. That's unlikely. Trump, however, could take a positive view of Adani, a fellow businessman who has praised Trump effusively,” said Kugelman.

The case highlights business risks in India, though experts believe the impact on investors will be limited mainly to the Adani group.

“There are no fears of a financial contagion -- at this point, the effect is centered on the group rather than the market. It could slow down the group’s expansion and growth as it will become more difficult for Adani to raise funds,” said Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst.

Still, for many in India, the news isn’t that startling. Investors already know “just how ingrained this (bribes and corruption) is in the fabric of the Indian economy -- you can’t miss it," Baliga said. “Initially, investors may stay away for a while - but at the end of the day, they will come back (to Adani). This isn’t some small or medium-sized group they can ignore.”

FILE- A tree with dried branches stands outside Adani Corporate House in Ahmedabad, India, Jan. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)

India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, center, addresses the media on Indian businessman Gautam Adani, after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors on charges he duped investors in a massive solar energy project in India, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Image behind shows Adani, on left with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on right. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi addresses the media on Indian businessman Gautam Adani, after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors on charges he duped investors in a massive solar energy project in India, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Image behind shows Adani. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A motorcyclist ride past the Adani's corporate house in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

Adani's signage is seen on the facade of Adani's corporate house in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

FILE - India's Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani addresses the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar, India, Jan.10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)