Moldova Considers Giving Up Its Stake in Russia’s KAMAZ

Moldova is ready to relinquish its shares in KAMAZ

Moldova is considering the possibility of divesting its shares in the Russian company KAMAZ, which have been a problematic asset for the state for years. Their market value is unknown, ownership has not been definitively registered, sanctions restrict transactions involving these securities, and Moldovan representatives are not invited to general meetings of shareholders.

Vladimir Rusu

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This concerns 62,500 registered ordinary shares, representing 0.00883 per cent of KAMAZ’s share capital. According to the Court of Auditors’ audit for the year 2025, their book value is approximately 1.45 million lei. The shares were purchased in 1991 using funds from the republican budget; however, following subsequent changes to the structure of public administration, their legal status has not been definitively regulated.

“A lot of paper has been wasted”

PAS MP Vladimir Rusu believes that the state should seek another way to resolve the issue, including by relinquishing the shares.

“Someone made some investments either in Ukraine or in Russia, in Kamaz, and here we are just… Honestly, as a lawyer, I don’t know how to resolve this particular issue. Given the current geopolitical context, it’s generally impossible, even if everything were fine and relations with the Russian Federation were to normalise. Perhaps we could simplify this matter somehow by relinquishing our claims. Legally, I don’t know how to relinquish all these claims, but the costs we’ve incurred at the Court of Auditors – all the paperwork we’ve printed out for this – I believe are much higher, because we won’t be able to derive any financial dividends from this. And we will probably have to make a decision and perhaps resolve the issue in a different way, because, legally, I see no solution, nor do I see one economically,” said Rusu during a meeting of the Committee on Public Finance Control.

The MP sees no solution from either a legal or an economic perspective. “We will probably have to make a decision and find another way to resolve this issue,” he added.

Sanctions and a legal impasse

As previously reported by Logos Press, the shares were purchased in 1991 using funds from the republican budget. According to a decree of the Government of the Moldovan SSR dated 10 July 1991, 18 million roubles were allocated to the Ministry of Transport for this purpose. The securities purchased were declared the property of the Republic of Moldova. However, following changes to the structure of the public administration, ownership of the shares was not registered in the name of the Public Property Agency (PPA).

In 2021, the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure attempted to transfer the shares to the agency, but the agency refused to accept them.

The situation was complicated by sanctions. KAMAZ, based in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny, Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation, was included in the European Union’s sanctions regime, which Moldova has also aligned itself with. By a decision of the Inter-institutional Supervisory Council dated 5 March 2025, measures were imposed on the company providing for the freezing of funds, assets and economic resources, as well as a ban on making such resources available.

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Angela Țurcanu, notes that the Moldovan side does not even receive notifications regarding general meetings of shareholders.

“Even if they organise a general meeting, we are not notified at all. Therefore, once the situation has been clarified, we will examine, together with the Public Property Agency, what we will do with KAMAZ,” she said.

The Deputy Director-General of the Public Property Agency (APP), Ion Ciumac, explained that the agency had taken over the shares in accordance with a recommendation from the Court of Auditors. However, finalising the transfer of ownership requires going through certain legal stages and clarifying relations with Russia.

“Firstly, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development must register its ownership of these shares, so that it can subsequently transfer them to the Public Property Agency, and we can become the owners of the shares. At present, we cannot take any action until relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Moldova have been clarified, so that we can implement these changes,” said Ciumac.

A ministry that no longer exists is listed in the register

The Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance Control, Adrian Lebedinschi, believes the issue could be resolved through diplomatic channels and by contacting the registrar responsible for maintaining the share register.

However, there is also an administrative obstacle: the Ministry of Transport, which no longer exists, is still listed as the owner.

“Of course, you will never receive invitations to the general meeting of shareholders, because you are not on the list of shareholders,” Lebedinschi remarked.

Thus, the KAMAZ shares have become, for Moldova, an asset that cannot be fully utilised, transferred or assessed in terms of real economic benefit. They represent a kind of moral and administrative burden that the authorities would be ready to dispose of, but do not yet know how to do so, either from a legal or an economic perspective.

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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