The auditors identified issues also with the record of assets transferred to the management of enterprises and municipal institutions, valued at over 911 million lei. Additionally, public infrastructure worth nearly 186 million lei was incorrectly recorded, and for fixed assets of about 233 million lei, depreciation was not calculated for the period 2017-2025.

Representatives of the Balti City Hall have stated that the municipality will inventory its assets and take measures for their registration. However, the Court of Accounts has warned that similar problems recur and require an approach at the level of the entire municipal heritage.

The audit revealed deficiencies in public procurement as well. In one case, similar services worth 895 thousand lei were contracted on the same day through seven small-value contracts, which presents a risk of dividing the acquisition. For other works and services worth over 55 million lei, the City Hall would not have sufficiently justified their necessity.

In the case of some road maintenance contracts, auditors found that only 42 out of the initially planned 289 types of works were carried out. Moreover, in another case, asphalt works were paid at a higher price than the one stipulated in the contract, generating additional payments of approximately 136 thousand lei. The city hall maintains that the difference was caused by the application of a thicker layer of asphalt.

The Court of Auditors also noted the lack of sufficient mechanisms for monitoring the wastewater treatment system concession contract. According to the audit, the confirmed investments for the verified period were approximately 31.3 million lei less than anticipated. The City Hall states that it is discussing with the private partner the return of the sewerage service to the municipality’s management.

Uncertainties were also found in the case of a debt of approximately 32 million lei for the accommodation of refugees at the Balti Hotel. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection maintains that some expenses were not eligible or did not have supporting documents, while the City Hall says it is trying to clarify the situation.

Following the audit, the Court of Auditors issued an adverse opinion on the financial reports of the city of Balti, noting that the identified issues affect the evidence of assets, expenditures, and the organization of accounting.

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During the hearings, it was mentioned that, during the verified period, over 3.1 billion lei were managed through the fund. According to the audit report, although the fund was planned in accordance with budgetary legislation, the lack of a mechanism to correlate eligible requests with available resources caused the state to accumulate annual financial obligations that it cannot cover. The Court of Accounts notes that the distribution of subsidies is done without performance indicators and without an evaluation of the impact of support measures, which affects the efficiency of the use of public money.

In response, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry stated that the recently approved Strategic Program of Agricultural Policy will no longer allow the accumulation of new arrears. According to them, each call for application submission will be launched within the limit of available financial resources, and eligible applications will be funded only within the allocated budget. The ministry’s representatives specified that the financial obligations accumulated in previous years remain the responsibility of the state and will be gradually honored, depending on the available resources.

Another issue discussed concerned the activity of the Agency for Intervention and Payments for Agriculture. The informational system used for processing applications is outdated and fragmented, which forces employees to manually process a large portion of the data. In addition, the institution is facing a staff shortage, and these problems lead to delays in reviewing the files submitted by farmers and increase the risk of errors or even double funding.

The representatives of AIPA have stated that the institution is working on the development of a new integrated information system, with the support of development partners. According to them, the platform will automate the processing of requests, will allow data exchange with state registries, and will be adapted to the requirements of the Republic of Moldova’s accession process to the European Union.

At the end of the meeting, the members of the Parliamentary Commission for Public Finance Control requested the responsible authorities to periodically present information on the implementation of the recommendations made following the audit, including about the measures taken to reduce arrears in subsidies and accelerate the digitization of processes within AIPA.

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The request was made during the meeting of the Parliamentary Commission for Public Finance Control, where the activity report of the Court of Accounts for the years 2024 and 2025 was examined.

During the meeting, Tatiana Rotari, a deputy of the Party of Action and Solidarity, asked whether the institution has recently checked Moldatsa and proposed including the company in the future audit plan, in the context of the scandals of the past few weeks and the checks that are already underway.

The President of the Court of Auditors, Tatiana Sevciuc, stated that the latest audit at Moldatsa targeted the financial situations for the year 2017 and was approved in 2018. She specified that the institution remains open to conducting a new audit, however, missions are selected based on legal procedures. According to her, every year, in June, authorities and citizens can propose audit themes, which are subsequently analyzed based on risks, public interest, and the relevance of the subject.

The Court’s management specified that the audit program for the year 2026 is already approved and cannot be modified. Under these circumstances, the request regarding Moldatsa will be examined within the process of developing the activity plan for the following period. At the same time, Tatiana Sevciuc mentioned that she cannot draw conclusions about the company’s activity without conducting an audit mission.

During the discussions, the President of the Court of Auditors reiterated that state enterprises and joint-stock companies are legally obliged to carry out audits conducted by independent companies from the professional services market and to make them public. At the same time, she emphasized that the external public audit carried out by the CCRM has a different role and is planned independently, based on risk analysis and public interest.

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The audit report shows that the project is experiencing a low rate of external funds utilization, with a loan expenditure level of only 6.8%. The delay in using the money led to the payment of a commitment fee of 86.5 thousand euros from the state budget, and auditors warn that blockages could generate additional costs and slow down the modernization of schools.

At the Court session, the Minister of Education, Dan Perciun, explained that the authorities were forced to choose between extending the deadlines or terminating the contracts, initially opting for extension due to the complexity of relaunching the procurement procedures, which could have further delayed the projects. Subsequently, he specified, the MEC terminated the contracts with the operators who did not fulfill their obligations and launched new procurement procedures, open also to companies with a greater execution capacity.

Another topic addressed was the inclusion of five high schools that had previously benefited from investments through a program funded by the World Bank, as auditors signaled a possible risk of overlapping work. However, Minister Perciun clarified that previous interventions were specific, targeting only certain blocks, while the current project envisages the complete renovation of the selected institutions.

Auditors have also pointed out issues in the technical documentation for the renovation of the “Alexandr Pushkin” High School in Ungheni, with the risk of wasting about 1.27 million lei paid for design, after the expertise requested its revision before approving the works. In response, the MEC stated that the project had been initially checked, but a new expertise identified non-compliances. Thus, the ministry will go to court to recover a part of the payment.

During the meeting, the expenses for national assessments and the digitization of exams were also analyzed. The auditors challenged the financing of some activities from the external loan, considering that they do not fully fit within the project’s objectives. However, the MEC clarified that the changes were approved by the World Bank and were necessary for digital assessments and remedial math programs.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Court of Auditors member, Natalia Trofim, stated that the project is an important one for the educational system, being financed both from loans and grants from the World Bank. She emphasized the need for accelerating implementation for efficient use of resources and achieving the set objectives.

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Contacted by IPN, Igor Gritco, public relations specialist at Moldelectrica, stated that the financial resources that are expected to remain at the company’s disposal will be used for the implementation of works included in the 10-year development plan, approved by ANRE. This refers to reconstruction and modernization projects of power stations, as well as the modernization of power transmission lines.

“Among the priority directions are the projects for the reconstruction and modernization of the 330/110 kV electric substations, the modernization of overhead electric transport lines, the implementation of modern automation, protection and operational command systems, as well as the development of the necessary infrastructure for the stable and reliable operation of the national power system in the context of regional integration and the increase in production capacities from renewable sources”, specifies Igor Gritco.

The representatives of the company also mention that the use of these financial resources can only begin after the project has been approved by the Government, and the investments will be monitored through control and reporting mechanisms. The clarifications are made in the context where the Court of Accounts has signaled, in the audit report for the year 2025, several irregularities regarding the accounting evidence in the energy sector.

“In terms of transparency in the use of funds, investments will be made in accordance with the applicable regulatory framework, procurement procedures, and internal and external financial control mechanisms, while adhering to the requirements for institutional reporting and monitoring”, mentioned the representative of Moldelectrica.

The Court of Auditors’ report for 2025 shows that the Ministry of Energy did not correctly reflect in its accounting records the value of assets managed through Moldelectrica. Auditors found differences of over 650 million lei between the data in the documents and the real value of the assets. At the same time, the report indicates that some public assets were erroneously included in the company’s share capital, although they should remain state property.

In parallel, the authorities are also promoting the reorganization of Moldelectrica from a state enterprise into a joint-stock company with full state capital. According to the Ministry of Energy, the reorganization does not imply the privatization of the energy infrastructure and that the state will fully retain control over strategic assets.

The draft resolution on exemption from the payment of deductions to the state budget is in the initiation stage and is to be subjected to consultations and approval procedures.

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The auditors found that only in the case of the Republican Theoretical High School “Aristotle”, where the value of the buildings reaches 77.7 million lei, approximately 300 students are studying in unauthorized buildings, and another approximately 150 students from districts are accommodated there. It is also mentioned that the former entrepreneur of the institution is in the process of insolvency, and the insolvency administrator requests in court over 57 million lei from the Academy of Sciences and from the MEC, the former and current founder of the high school. A similar problem is faced by the Republican Center for Children and Youth “Artico”, where the value of the constructions used without final reception is estimated at 106.4 million lei.

The President of the CCRM, Tatiana Sevciuc, has described the situation as very serious from a risk management perspective. According to her, the daily use of an infrastructure that has not been legally approved can lead to legal and security consequences in the event of technical incidents.

The MEC representatives stated that working groups have been created with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development to identify legal solutions. In the case of “Artico”, technical expertise of the buildings has been initiated, and after their completion, the authorities will decide on the method of reception and operation of the buildings. Regarding the “Aristotle” High School, the ministry claims that the process is blocked by the litigation pending in court.

The CCRM audit also revealed other issues in the management of heritage and public funds in education. It was found that the MEC did not keep the accounting records of public goods according to legal requirements, especially the heritage transmitted to subordinate institutions. For this reason, auditors say they could not validate the correctness of an amount of over 8.7 billion lei, reflected in the ministry’s financial reports. At the same time, overvalued lands were identified with almost 100 million lei and unregistered reconstruction works in the accounting records worth over 41 million lei.

The report also shows that the ministry did not ensure a uniform and transparent system of granting bonuses and awards in some subordinate institutions. At the “Artico” center, over 945 thousand lei were used for performance bonuses, of which 842 thousand for 25 employees, and around 103 thousand lei for 106 employees. Auditors also drew attention to the advanced state of degradation of some sports complexes and rest bases under the management of institutions subordinate to MEC.

The Court of Auditors issued an opinion with reservations on the consolidated financial reports of the MEC for the past year, and requested the ministry to accelerate the inventory of assets, the acceptance of constructions, and the implementation of internal control measures. At the same time, the ministry mentioned that during the audit mission, accounting errors were corrected with a total value of over 215 million lei.

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In the report on the consolidated financial statements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the year 2025, auditors issued a qualified opinion and pointed out several irregularities regarding asset management and accounting records. They argue that the ministry has not remedied the deficiencies related to the recognition and classification of the TETRA infrastructure as a single inventory item, maintaining fragmented records of it in different accounting groups. This situation led to an undervaluation of over 260 million lei of the “Transmission Installations” accounting group.

The President of the CCRM, Tatiana Sevciuc, stated that the TETRA system represents the pillar of security communications in the country and warned that the lack of clarification of property rights could endanger its functionality. In response, the representatives of the MAI stated that many of the problems identified have a historical character and have accumulated over the years. According to them, the institution has already started the necessary procedures for clarifying the property situation and remedying the deficiencies reported by the CCRM, including in the case of the TETRA infrastructure.

The auditors also found that the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) did not register in the accounting records 45 buildings with a total area of over 51 thousand square meters, most of them belonging to the General Inspectorate of Police. At the same time, morally and physically worn goods and stocks worth about 141 million lei, including degraded buildings, machinery and transport means, were detected by auditors. At the same time, the report specifies that some external grants and capital repair works were erroneously recorded in the accounting, which led to the distortion of the financial situations.

Also, out of the over 3,400 means of transport managed by the MAI, approximately 1,200 are not equipped with GPS monitoring systems, which complicates the justification of fuel consumption, and over 400 units are non-functional. In this regard, the representatives of the MAI mentioned that the necessary procedures have already been initiated, including the tenders for the installation of GPS systems on transport units.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs manages one of the largest and most complex estates in the public sector, which includes general inspectorates, state enterprises, and medical-sanitary institutions. At the end of 2025, the total value of the MAI estate exceeded 11 billion lei, of which 7.8 billion were fixed assets, 1.3 billion lei were lands, and other assets were estimated at 2.2 billion lei.

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The report shows that, although some actions have been taken to recover debts, these were not sufficient to stop the accumulation of arrears.

Issues have been identified also in the way employers calculate social contributions for employees with reduced or part-time schedules. In 2025, on average, about 11 thousand people per month were affected by the declaration of wages below the country’s minimum wage, which led to a decrease in contributions to the social insurance budget.

In this context, the State Fiscal Service has implemented control and prevention measures, however, the Court of Auditors believes that these were not sufficient. As a result, the social insurance budget would have lost revenues estimated at around 14.2 million lei just last year.

The audit also shows an increase in the number of insolvent companies. In 2025, these reached 1,631 units, 89 more than in the previous year. At the same time, their debts to the social insurance budget rose to almost 500 million lei.

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According to the report, the implementation of the construction project for the new Chisinau prison was marked last year by delays and deficiencies in the use of financial resources, as well as in compliance with contractual provisions. The expenses for the remuneration of the staff of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), responsible for the project implementation, exceeded the approved level by 6.4 times. At the same time, operational expenses were 2.4 times higher than initially planned.

The Court of Auditors’ audit shows that the project of the new penitentiary, financed through a loan and external grants, has experienced major delays. For the year 2025, the initial allocations of 125.5 million lei were reduced to 22.2 million lei, and the actual expenses amounted to approximately 11.9 million lei. At the same time, only 71.6% of the funds from the advance paid to UNOPS were used, below the minimum threshold necessary for the disbursement of the next tranche. For this reason, the transfers planned for last year, worth 28 million euros, were not carried out.

According to the report, delays and insufficient use of resources risk generating additional costs for the state. CCRM mentions that for the loan already disbursed, interest of 1.3 million lei has been paid. “We cannot accept a development model in which personnel expenses eclipse the entire physical process of the works. In this case, we request an immediate review of the control mechanisms to stop the waste of public money and to ensure the completion of this strategic objective”, said CCRM President Tatiana Sevciuc.

Representatives of the Ministry of Justice have acknowledged delays in the implementation of the project. The interim manager of the implementation unit for the construction of the penitentiary in the city of Chisinau, Liviu Duca, stated that the ministry has initiated the procedure to terminate cooperation with UNOPS and has notified the institution about the termination of the project agreement. He specified that legislative changes are to follow to allow the resumption of construction works.

In turn, Miroslav Sendrea, deputy head of the National Administration of Penitentiaries, mentioned that the commitments undertaken by UNOPS were not fulfilled and that the authorities are examining alternatives for the continuation of the project.

On the edge of the audit report, CCRM issued several recommendations for MJ and its subordinate institutions. These aim at strengthening internal control, expediting public procurement procedures, and more efficient monitoring of the activity of the Implementation Unit of the new penitentiary project in Chisinau.

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According to the CCRM Report, out of the 407 identified state information systems, 148 are still operating outside the common platform. Moreover, the auditors draw attention to the fact that the security architecture of the platform is outdated and is based on standards from 2014 and the lack of a unified vision creates vulnerabilities in the face of cyber risks.

The audit also shows that almost a quarter of the institutions using MCloud do not have IT specialists, which makes them dependent on external support and limits the efficient use of the platform. At the same time, the lack of clear rules regarding data management and archiving leads to the accumulation of large volumes of information, impacting operational costs.

In response, the director of the Electronic Governance Agency, Nicoleta Colomeet, stated that the institution is working on a strategic development plan for the MCloud platform. According to her, options are being analyzed to identify the resources needed for investments in a new data center and for modernizing the security system, as well as for adjusting the regulatory framework.

Representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization have specified that the authorities are preparing legislative changes to establish the year 2028 as the deadline for migrating all state information systems to the MCloud platform. In this regard, the Court of Auditors has made several recommendations, including updating the security system, developing a unified strategy, and suspending investments in separate IT infrastructures.

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