Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern (76), a Romanian prince who claims to be the heir to his grandfather King Carol II’s throne, was arrested today in Paris on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by Romania.
Prince Paul had previously twice evaded extradition to Romania, where he is wanted to serve a prison sentence for influence peddling.
A judicial source confirmed his arrest to AFP, after it was first reported by Romanian media.
Prince Paul is accused of working with a gang of fraudsters between 2006 and 2013 to illegally obtain properties he claimed as part of his royal inheritance.
He is expected to appear before the Paris Court of Appeal for a hearing regarding his extradition, according to the same source.
The Romanian Ministry of Justice stated that Prince Paul was taken from his residence and brought before a judge, who ordered his detention. The final decision on his extradition to Romania will be made by the French court.
His lawyer, Myriam Laïci, criticized Romania’s pursuit of her client and said that Interpol’s General Assembly had refused to enforce the arrest warrant, asking all Interpol offices to withdraw it. She pointed out that courts in Paris and Malta had previously ruled against extraditing Prince Paul to Romania.
In December 2020, a Romanian court sentenced Prince Paul to three years and four months in prison after convicting him of corruption related to unlawfully attempting to claim royal properties. However, he fled the country and an Interpol warrant was issued.
Prince Paul was arrested in Paris in 2022, but the French court upheld his appeal and refused extradition. In April 2024, he was arrested again in Malta based on the same 2020 warrant. However, the Maltese court ordered his release in August 2024 and also denied extradition.
In July 2024, the European Court of Justice highlighted the importance of safeguarding Prince Paul’s fundamental human rights, a stance supported by multiple European courts.
Paul’s father, Carol Mircea Grigore, born in 1920, was considered the illegitimate son of King Carol II but was later recognized as his son. However, Paul’s uncle, King Michael I, Romania’s last monarch who died in 2017, never acknowledged Paul as part of the royal family, leading to inheritance disputes.
Despite this, the Romanian state officially recognized Paul as a member of the royal family, and courts awarded him part of the inherited royal property, according to his lawyer.
Romania’s royal family was exiled by the communists in 1947, and their properties were confiscated.
