Areas of practice
Two directions: defence and prevention.
Defence
Advice for companies
Economic crime
Tax evasion · Money laundering · Corruption offences · Embezzlement · Abuse of office · Offences involving EU funds · Offences related to public procurement · Fraud · Smuggling · Capital markets offences · Company law offences · Fraudulent bankruptcy · etc.
Cybercrime
Fraudulent operations in fintech · Illegal access to computer systems · Incidents affecting system operation and data integrity · Computer fraud · Fraudulent financial operations · Computer forgery · etc.
Forgery and intellectual property
Document forgery · Counterfeiting · Infringement of intellectual property rights · etc.
Proceedings
Criminal investigation · Preliminary chamber · Trial at first instance and on appeal · Extraordinary remedies · Preventive measures · Asset freezing and seizure · Special procedures
Prevention and compliance
Criminal risk assessment · Compliance programmes · Internal policies and staff training
Internal investigations and incident response
Internal investigations · Response to fraud and cybersecurity incidents · Dealing with judicial authorities
Internal governance of artificial intelligence
Rules for the use of AI systems · Allocation of liability within the company
Structuring and tax-criminal risk
Review of corporate structures · Review of tax operations from a criminal-risk perspective
Who we work with
Companies
Romanian companies and foreign businesses operating in Romania. I work in Romanian, English, French, Spanish and Italian.
Directors and management
Directors, officers and shareholders involved in criminal proceedings connected to the company's activity.
Individuals
Public officials and other individuals involved in criminal proceedings concerning offences of the kind described above.
Law firms and other specialist advisers
Working with firms specialising in private law, and with experts and consultants, to provide multidisciplinary solutions in risk situations.
About
Dragoș Pârgaru
Experience
I have been a member of the Bucharest Bar since 2011 and have more than 15 years' experience in criminal law, including as coordinating partner of a law firm. Over that time I have represented a significant number of business people and politically exposed persons in some of the most complex and high-profile criminal cases in Romania, from criminal investigation through to extraordinary remedies.
I have advised and assisted multinational companies from Italy, Spain, the United States, Germany, Denmark and elsewhere, both in contentious matters and on prevention, compliance and internal policies, as well as in internal investigations.
Specialisms
My practice focuses on economic crime (tax evasion, money laundering, corruption, EU funds and public procurement fraud, fraudulent bankruptcy and other insolvency-related offences) and on cybercrime, including fraud in the fintech sector and incidents affecting system operation and data integrity. For companies, I provide advisory services aimed at prevention: criminal risk assessment, compliance programmes, internal investigations and the governance of artificial intelligence.
Academic career
I have taught criminal law and criminology at the Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest since 2010, first as an assistant lecturer and, since 2022, as a lecturer. I hold the courses in Economic Crime, Criminal Liability in Tax Matters and Cybercrimes in the faculty's master's programmes. I supervise bachelor's and master's dissertations and sit on several doctoral supervisory committees.
I hold a doctorate in law, awarded with the distinction “Excellent”, and completed postdoctoral studies in international, European and comparative human rights law, including a research placement at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University.
I am director of the Research Centre in Criminal Sciences, have served on examination boards in competitions organised by the National Institute of Magistracy, and am a member of the European Society of Criminology. I am the author of several books and articles and have been an invited speaker at numerous conferences in Romania and abroad.
Academic work
Books and book chapters
- 2026AI – a New Subject of Criminal Law? [AI – un nou subiect de drept penal?]in The Person at the Centre of Criminal Law: Between Freedom and Liability. Studies in Honour of Professor Valerian Cioclei, C.H. Beck, Bucharest
- 2026Standards in Dental Medical Practice – Implications for Criminal Liability. Is Medicine Mathematical?in Malpractice in Dentistry, Solomon, Bucharest
- 2021The Appearance of Guilt in the Case of Abuse of Office and Negligence in Office Offencesin In honorem Flavius Antoniu Baias. Appearance in Law, Hamangiu, Bucharest
- 2019Offences Related to Insolvency ProceedingsC.H. Beck, Bucharest
- 2017Law No. 254/2013 on the Execution of Sentences and Custodial Measures Ordered by Judicial Bodies during Criminal Proceedings. Commentary and AnnotationsHamangiu, Bucharest, co-author
Articles – selection
- 2023L'importance du Comité d'experts sur l'évaluation des mesures de lutte contre le blanchiment des capitaux et le financement du terrorisme et de la Division de la coopération contre la criminalité économique dans la lutte contre le blanchiment d'argentUniversity of Bucharest Law Review – Legal Forum, no. 1/2023
- 2023Limites procédurales en matière de droits de l'homme dans les enquêtes sur les crimes économiquesUniversity of Bucharest Law Review – Legal Forum, no. 2/2023
- 2022Human Rights in the Context of Financial Market AbuseUniversity of Bucharest Law Review – Legal Forum, no. 2/2022
- 2022The Impact of the European Court of Human Rights' Case-Law on National Authorities' Response to Tax Criminal OffencesNew Journal of Human Rights, no. 2/2022
- 2022Statute of Limitation sine lege? A Critical View of Certain Arguments against the Application of the More Favourable Criminal Law Principle in Matters concerning the Interruption of Limitation PeriodsUniversity of Bucharest Law Review – Legal Forum, no. 1/2022
- 2022Statute of Limitation, quo vadis? Reflections on the Limitation of Criminal Liability following Decision no. 358/2022 of the Romanian Constitutional CourtUniversity of Bucharest Law Review – Legal Forum, no. 1/2022
- 2020Critical Observations regarding the Amendments to Article 352 of the Criminal Code in the Context of the COVID-19 PandemicUniversity of Bucharest Law Review – Legal Forum, no. 1/2020
- 2020Study on Law Students' Perception of the Death PenaltyUniversity of Bucharest Law Review – Legal Forum, no. 3/2020, co-author
- 2020The Right to Die in Romania. A Critical Analysis of Killing at the Victim's RequestCurierul Judiciar, no. 8/2020
- 2014Simple Bankruptcy and Fraudulent Bankruptcy under the New Criminal CodeUniversity of Bucharest Law Review, supplement 2014
- 2013The Concept of Insolvency from the Perspective of Criminal LawUniversity of Bucharest Law Review, no. I/2013
- 2012Simple BankruptcyUniversity of Bucharest Law Review, nos. III-IV/2012
Conferences – selection
- 2026Rule of Law Forum, 2nd edition, BucharestSpeaker · “The impact of corporate anti-corruption policies on criminal liability after Law No. 156/2025”
- 2026Eurocrim 2026 – Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, WarsawSpeaker · “AI delinquere non potest?”
- 2026Tax Law Conference “Protection of Taxpayers' Rights”, 4th edition, University of BucharestSpeaker · “Article 4 of Law No. 241/2005 vs. the right not to incriminate oneself”
- 2026International Conference “Legal Perspectives on the Internet” (COPEJI 9.0), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, IașiSpeaker · “From Narrow to General AI: Reshaping the Principles of Criminal Liability”
- 2025IMSCB Conference, 9th edition, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, BucharestSpeaker · “From Brain Scans to Bloodshed: Are Serial Killers Born Like This or Are They Shaped by Trauma?”
- 2025National Conference “Liability in Medical Malpractice Cases”, 2nd edition – Dental Malpractice, University of BucharestSpeaker · “Standards in Medical Practice – Implications for Criminal Liability. Is Medicine Mathematical?”
- 2025Tax Law Conference, 3rd edition – “Taxes in the Digital Era”, University of BucharestSpeaker · “The impact of digitalisation on criminal liability in tax matters”
- 2024Eurocrim 2024 – Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, BucharestSpeaker · “Limiting the extent to which legislators should obey society's requests for criminalisation and harsh punishment of certain offences”
- 2024Tax Law Conference, 2nd edition, University of BucharestModerator, Panel III
- 2022Smart Law Conferences – “Tax Evasion. Special Bucharest Edition”Scientific coordinator and speaker · “Tax evasion and corruption offences. The effects of recording bribes in the accounts”
- 2020Eurocrim 2020 – Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (online)Speaker · “Arguments against the death penalty and an overview of available current alternatives”
- 2020Conference “Urgency in Law” (online)Speaker · “Carneades' plank – contemporary (un)imagined variations in epidemiological crises”
- 2019National Institute of Magistracy – “Criminal law issues in insolvency and enforcement proceedings”Speaker
- 2014Conference “Fundamental Regulations in the New Criminal Code and the New Criminal Procedure Code”, Faculty of Law, University of BucharestSpeaker · “Simple bankruptcy and fraudulent bankruptcy under the new Criminal Code”