The Kostas Passaris Bucharest Double Murder

By late 2001, Kostas Passaris was already wanted internationally for serious violent offences in Greece. His arrival in Romania led to a sequence of robberies, but the most consequential Romanian case was the armed attack on a currency-exchange office in central Bucharest where two employees were killed. The prosecution that followed resulted in a life sentence that was later confirmed on appeal.

The exchange-office attack

During the night of November 24 to 25, 2001, Passaris entered the Mundi Exchange office in the Petit Bijou commercial complex on Nicolae Bălcescu Boulevard in central Bucharest. Two employees, Constantin Apostu and Virgil Mihăilescu, were killed during the robbery.

Contemporary and later reporting describe a substantial amount of cash being taken. Because Romanian currency was redenominated several years later and sources express the amount differently, this archive does not convert the figure into a modern equivalent. The legally important point is that the killings occurred in the course of a planned armed robbery.

Arrest and evidence

Passaris was arrested in Bucharest at the end of November 2001 after police traced him to a rented apartment. Investigators recovered firearms and cash from locations connected to him. Adevărul's later reconstruction also reported that clothing and other evidence linked to the robbery were recovered from additional premises used by Passaris.

Passaris initially denied responsibility for the Bucharest murders and demanded that investigators prove his participation. The case therefore did not rest solely on a confession; prosecutors assembled physical and circumstantial evidence and brought him to trial.

The 2003 life sentence

On July 30, 2003, the Bucharest Tribunal found Passaris guilty of the double murder and related offences and imposed life imprisonment, the most severe custodial sentence available under Romanian law. Later reporting states that the Bucharest Court of Appeal and Romania's High Court subsequently confirmed the conviction.

Passaris also received sentences in separate Romanian proceedings for armed robberies in Galați and Cluj. Those later judgments affected the overall execution of his punishment but did not create additional murder convictions for this Bucharest incident. This page therefore keeps the two Bucharest victims and the Romanian double-murder judgment together as one case file.

Long-term imprisonment

Passaris has served his sentence in several Romanian maximum-security prisons. Court records quoted by Romanian media calculate the execution of the life sentence from November 28, 2001. Over the years he submitted repeated requests seeking conditional release or a less restrictive detention regime.

Those applications are not evidence that the conviction was overturned. They concern the execution of an existing life sentence, and the conviction itself remained valid.

The 2026 parole decisions

The most recent legal status located for this review is from 2026. On June 18, 2026, the Craiova District Court rejected Passaris's seventh request for conditional release. On August 13, 2026, the Dolj Tribunal confirmed the refusal. According to the ruling reported by Libertatea, he may submit another request only after January 21, 2027.

That distinction matters: a parole application tests whether release conditions are met; it does not reopen the underlying verdict. As of the latest reviewed decision, Passaris remained subject to the Romanian life sentence.

Why this is a Romanian case file

Passaris is a Greek citizen and was wanted for crimes committed in Greece before arriving in Romania. The Bucharest exchange-office murders nevertheless belong in the Romania archive because the two victims were killed in Bucharest, Romanian investigators arrested Passaris, Romanian prosecutors tried the case and Romanian courts imposed and continue to administer the life sentence.

Crimes alleged or proven in Greece are background only. They are not counted as Romanian victims and are not used to inflate this country's case total.

Timeline

1. November 24–25, 2001
   Double murder during a robbery

   Constantin Apostu and Virgil Mihăilescu are killed at the Mundi Exchange office in central Bucharest.

2. Late November 2001
   Passaris is arrested

   Romanian police capture the internationally wanted fugitive in Bucharest and recover evidence from premises connected to him.

3. July 30, 2003
   Life sentence

   The Bucharest Tribunal convicts Passaris and imposes life imprisonment.

4. After 2003
   Appeals fail

   Later Romanian reporting records that the conviction is confirmed by the Bucharest Court of Appeal and the High Court.

5. June 18, 2026
   Parole request denied

   The Craiova District Court rejects Passaris's seventh application for conditional release.

6. August 13, 2026
   Denial confirmed

   The Dolj Tribunal upholds the refusal; the next application cannot be filed before January 21, 2027.

Current status

Solved / Adjudicated. Kostas Passaris was convicted in Romania for the murders of Constantin Apostu and Virgil Mihăilescu and received life imprisonment. The conviction was upheld on appeal. His latest conditional-release request was finally rejected in August 2026, so the sentence remained in force at the time of this review.