NEWS: Ringleader of a Romanian grooming gang offered £1,500 to leave the UK while he was still awaiting trial for ten rapes.

A Sky News investigation has revealed that the ringleader of a Romanian grooming gang was offered £1,500 to leave the UK while he was still awaiting trial for multiple rapes.

Mircea Marian Cumpanasoiu, 38, led a Dundee-based network that drugged, exploited and raped vulnerable women. Despite this, Home Office officials met him at HMP Perth in summer 2024 and handed him “voluntary return” papers under a scheme that pays foreign nationals to leave the country. The offer was later withdrawn because of his upcoming court case.

In a further twist, while he was standing trial in December 2024 for 10 rapes, Cumpanasoiu’s UK immigration status was automatically renewed under the EU Settlement Scheme. His status has only now been revoked following questions raised by Sky News.

Cumpanasoiu was later sentenced to a 24-year extended term – 20 years in prison and four years on licence – for rape, trafficking and sexual exploitation. Prosecutors described him as a “winking, smirking pimp” who targeted vulnerable women and ran brothels across Dundee.

Rape Crisis Scotland has criticised the situation, saying survivors must be able to trust the criminal justice process, and questioned why the Home Office became involved before any verdict had been reached.