The DA party calls on the relevant state institutions to establish a moratorium on any transactions involving the Chisinau International Airport. The party demands that the transaction between Avia Invest and NR Investments Ltd not to be recognized legal until there is a final court decision regarding the Chisinau Airport original concession, based on the criminal investigation initiated by the Prosecutor General's Office and CNA. The DA party reacts to the result of the agreement concluded two days ago, that allows NR Investments Ltd to acquire 95% of Avia Invest, the airport concessionaire.
DA says in a statement that the requests stem from the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee conclusions, led by Igor Munteanu, regarding the analysis of how the privatizations were carried out in 2013-2019, including the concession of the Chisinau International Airport. The findings were submitted to the National Anticorruption Center and to the General Prosecutor's Office for the commencement of criminal prosecution. DA refers to the fact that the committee has identified evidence showing multiple blatant violations committed during the process of awarding the airport concession, which generated loses of millions of euros to the state budget.
DA also cited the CNA Informative Note of August 24, 2015, signed by Viorel Chetraru, the ex-director of the CNA, which recommends the Ministry of Justice to initiate the cancellation procedure of the concession contract concluded between the Public Property Agency and SRL "Avia Invest". The reasoning behind the recommendation is the fact that the concession contract was not concluded with the Association of legal entities JSC "Habarovsk Airport" and JSC "Kolomensky zavod", designated as the competition winner.
DA states that "According to CNA conclusions reflected in the document cited above, which found that contrary to information provided by the ex-minister of economy, Valeriu Lazăr, the CNA reviewers established that the airport was rapidly developing. Thanks to efficient management, beside its own financial resources, it attracted resources from external development partners, which allowed the expansion of provided services and allowed to modernize the airport. In this regard, it was found that the ICA was a profitable state-owned enterprise, registering about 120 million in profits between 2009-2013”.
DA calls on the relevant state institutions to inform national and international economic operators that any transaction concluded with "Avia Invest", until the court's final decision, will not be recognized by Moldovan authorities. Additionally, the party urges authorities to identify mechanisms that allow to return the airport to state management, by canceling the concession transaction. It is also requested that those responsible for the illegal concession of the International Airport of Chisinau are held accountable.
