After the resignation of chairman Alan Savage, it became clear Inverness could not afford Niculae's wages, and the club accepted an offer of €500,000 from Dinamo Bucharest, in the summer of 2008. Niculae left Inverness with a record of ten goals in 38 games in all competitions. He later became involved in a dispute with the club over a share of the transfer fee that was not paid to him when he left. As a result, Inverness were ordered by FIFA to pay £133,000 to the player. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the decision.