Arena Chișinău Final Acceptance Blocked After Audit Uncovers Violations

Final acceptance of the ‘Arena Chișinău’ complex has been blocked: an audit has revealed multi-million violations and risks to spectator safety

Final acceptance of the ‘Arena Chișinău’ multi-purpose complex cannot be carried out, despite the fact that the facility has already been put into operation. The reason for this is that the private partner failed to prepare a cost estimate using the resource-based method — a key document without which it is impossible to verify the actual volumes and cost of the construction work carried out. The Court of Auditors presented its arguments to Parliament.

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These are the findings of an audit which revealed a whole series of systemic financial and technical irregularities in the complex’s operations. First and foremost, there was the misuse of funds. Between 2018 and 2025, the state allocated 606.8 million lei from the budget to reimburse investments. The company’s management channelled a surplus of 32.8 million lei, arising from exchange rate differences, towards covering current expenditure, even though this money was strictly earmarked for a specific purpose.

Risks to visitors and dubious transactions

There remains a threat to visitor safety. The venue lacks a functioning mechanism for counting and verifying the number of spectators. Consequently, the auditors were unable to confirm compliance with the limit of 5,051 people set by the technical assessment, which poses direct risks to the evacuation of people in the event of an emergency.

Problems with tax and customs concessions and accounting have also been identified. There are serious gaps in the control of goods imported into the country under preferential arrangements with tax and customs concessions amounting to 67.1 million lei. Furthermore, furniture and specialised equipment worth approximately 98.7 million lei were erroneously included in the total value of the buildings.

At the end of 2024, the company recorded a net loss of 33.9 million lei, with depreciation of fixed assets accounting for almost 59 per cent of total costs. Furthermore, the audit identified shortcomings in procurement procedures, revenue recovery and the justification of service tariffs for the complex.

Furthermore, the very existence of the ‘Arena Chișinău’ complex is questionable. The auditors identified serious shortcomings in the justification for this project, the procedure for selecting a private partner and the subsequent monitoring of the public-private partnership (PPP).

The preliminary justification did not fully demonstrate the need for the arena’s construction, nor did it contain a sufficient analysis of alternative options, costs, benefits and risks. Furthermore, irregularities in the selection of the private partner reduced the transparency and competitiveness of the tender process.

This story was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence.The translation was also reviewed by the Logos Press editorial team.

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