Prosecutors have forwarded to court another segment of the investigation into the lease of the Chisinau International Airport. Eight former and current officials have been indicted in the case, including the former prime minister Iurie Leancă, the ex-minister of the economy Valeriu Lazăr, and MP Petru Jardan, formerly acting director of the Airport. According to the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA), the damage caused to the state exceeds 392 million lei.
PA Chief Prosecutor Veronica Dragalin told a press briefing on Tuesday that among the accused are the former director of the Public Property Agency, Tudor Copaci, and his deputy Angela Susanu, along with APP department head Maria Șendilă, the Airport’s financial director Alexandru Ciutac, and the Airport’s chief financial analyst Alla Țubari.
According to prosecutors, in 2013 the group abused their offices to prepare and actually lease the state-owned Chisinau International Airport to a criminal group. “The competition committee worked together to rig the contest in favor of Avia Invest, a company affiliated with the criminal group led by Ilan Shor. The commission feigned the submission of tenders and terms-of-references for the lease to companies that managed airports in different countries, creating the appearance of fair competition”, noted Veronica Dragalin.
The PA chief prosecutor explained how the damage of over 392 million lei was formed. In 2012, a contract was concluded with a foreign company that conducted a study and recommended the long-term lease of the airport. One recommendation was that between 8% and 21% of the private company’s income should be returned to the state. The working group largely copied the foreign company’s report, but the final version of the contract signed by APP and approved by the Government contains a different number: only 1% of the revenues had to be transferred to the state budget.
According to Dragalin, prosecutors were able to prove that the accused had personal gains from Ilan Shor. “Evidence proves that Iurie Leancă accepted more than $40,000 in two installments from Ilan Shor, through companies affiliated with him, for his son’s studies in Great Britain. Not only that, Iurie Leancă, together with his family, flew in private planes with Ilan Shor. He accepted the use of luxury cars that belonged to Ilan Shor. He accepted those benefits before making the decision that the company affiliated with Ilan Shor would win the lease”, said Veronica Dragalin.
According to her, the accused will not be arrested and court hearings will be public.
To recover the damage, the authorities seized the assets of Avia Invest SRL, as well as assets of the accused, including those from abroad, estimated at about 189 million lei in total.
The accused face imprisonment from 3 to 8 years, with a ban on certain posts and activities for a period of 10 to 15 years.
The accused intend to plead not guilty, according to prosecutors. The case will be tried by the Chisinau/Buiucani Court.
