It ain’t over till it’s over

– Yogi Berra

GEORGE ZLATI

George Zlati is an External Partner of Gherdan & Associates, contributing specialist expertise in criminal law to matters where sports disputes intersect with criminal proceedings. He is a criminal lawyer with over 13 years of experience, holding a PhD in Law from Babeș-Bolyai University and serving as a university lecturer in cybercrime at the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the University of Alba Iulia. He is also an external collaborator of the National Institute of Magistracy (INM), involved in the continuous training of judges and prosecutors in the field of cybercrime.

His connection to the sports world is direct and documented. George served as defence counsel in Romania’s only known criminal case involving the embezzlement of professional football players, a matter that required navigating both the specific legal structures of professional sport and the full complexity of Romanian criminal procedure. This experience makes him uniquely placed to assist Gherdan & Associates clients when sports disputes escalate into or intersect with criminal investigations.

Beyond sport, his criminal practice spans cybercrime, blockchain technology and crypto-assets, fraud, corruption, abuse of office, tax evasion, and the seizure of digital assets in criminal proceedings. His published work carries exceptional institutional authority, his books and articles have been cited in binding decisions of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, including rulings on cybercrime, computer fraud, blockchain, and digital evidence. He is the author of Romania’s first Treatise on Cybercrime and a co-author of the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code commentaries published by C.H. Beck.

George is a regular speaker at international conferences organised by the European Law Academy, the European Society of Criminology, and other leading institutions across Europe, on topics including cybercrime, digital evidence, artificial intelligence in criminal justice, and blockchain. He is a member of the European Criminal Bar Association and European Fraud and Compliance Lawyers.