The purpose of the investigation carried out by the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee regarding how the privatization and concession of the Air Moldova company assets were conducted is the return of the assets to state property. State institutions will later decide how to manage the property, if the return is achieved. The statement was made by Socialist MP Petru Burduja, a member of the Inquiry Committee, during the NTV Moldova program "Acces direct".
"The purpose of this investigation is, in fact, to return the assets of the state and of the people. Further, the state will decide to either improve the economic activity of this enterprise under state jurisdiction or to privatize if that provides the best outcome. However, this information should be made public and wide-spread so that all investors who can afford to bid on such an asset are informed", said Petru Burduja.
According to him, the privatization process of Air Moldova implied that the new owner had to repay the state 1.3 billion lei, the amount that was previously invested by the state in order to modernize the company. "In fact, the new owner received the asset on a plate, exploited it and received profits. If paybacks were not received on schedule as determined by the contract, then many questions arise", said the MP.
Igor Munteanu, ACUM MP and chairman of the Inquiry Committee, says that during privatization negotiations, the representative of the private investor and the Public Property Agency (APP) representatives agreed that the company's debts will be paid over the course of 3-4 months, yet a year has passed since. Additionally, according to contract, the APP was obliged to appoint an inspector in order to audit the 2018-2019 period, however, the auditor was not appointed. "These things create financial-economic uncertainty regarding the company's situation and the state's obligations in this resounding case. From this point of view, we must commence a comprehensive audit of the held assets and the quality of the services provided by the owner. Upon audit completion, the state must decide what to do next with this company”, declared Igor Munteanu.
The MP added that, according to data that the committee has at its disposal, the economic status of the company has not improved, even though this was the purpose of the privatization. "The question arises: what was the former government's intent? Did it want to change the status from public to private, as to enrich someone, or did it want to build a sustainable company, capable of absorbing investments and providing quality services to the citizens?”, asks Igor Munteanu.
Air Moldova was sold in October 2018 to the Civil Aviation Group SRL company, which manages the Romanian airline Blue Air. At that time, the Public Property Agency announced that 50 million lei were transferred to the state budget, while the rest of the company value represents Air Moldova debts, which the investor was obliged to pay.
