Maia Sandu
The president called the payment to her relative from public funds “immoral” and acknowledged the authorities’ failure to oversee the operations of this state-owned enterprise.
“What happened at MoldATSA is our failure because we did not check everything properly. At the same time, the fact that my relative received money she didn’t deserve is not my fault: just as my relatives are not responsible for my actions, I am not responsible for theirs. I consider it immoral to take money you don’t deserve, especially when we know how hard we’re fighting for meritocracy and respect for public funds,” the president said on ProTV Chișinău.
A Precedent
The head of state emphasized that following “this lesson,” audits of all state-owned enterprises will begin at the government’s request.
“We have 74 enterprises, and, naturally, the government has requested that we audit them all. Because, once we uncovered this situation, it became clear that larger sums were involved. I suspect that not all enterprises have the resources available for such things, and we cannot claim that directors at all enterprises are abusing their authority. “I don’t want to believe that all appointed executives acted the same way as the director of MoldATSA, but this is a very serious case, and it requires strict oversight at all other enterprises,” the president noted.
In addition, Maia Sandu expressed dissatisfaction with the size of the administrative boards at state-owned enterprises, adding that “clearly, the system isn’t working.”
Ban on Holding Multiple Positions
“It’s unclear why there had to be 10 people on this board if we see that not a single one of them paid any attention to what was happening at the enterprise. We need to look into what’s going on at other state-owned enterprises as well, since this may not be the only institution of its kind. And my question to the APP (Public Property Agency— Logos Press) is: why do we have so many members on administrative boards, and where have they all been? I think we need to introduce a ban so that one person cannot serve on several administrative boards at once.”
Who and What Is Behind the MoldATSA Scandal
As a reminder, Dumitru Vangeli, the CEO of MoldATSA, the State Enterprise for Airspace Use and Air Traffic Services, was relieved of his duties on June 22. Andrei Cebanu, who previously served as deputy director of the Civil Aviation Authority, has been appointed acting director. An internal investigation into the matter is ongoing.
Vangeli was removed from his position following a journalistic investigation that cast doubt on claims regarding his training at a Canadian aviation school and his employment as a pilot for Air Canada. The airline itself stated that it had no record of his employment.
Questions regarding the payment of inflated salaries, allowances, and bonuses at MoldATSA also caused a stir. In particular, according to the investigation’s findings, this concerns an employee of the public relations department—Maya Sandu’s cousin—whose monthly salary was approximately 120,000 lei.
Follow our updates
