Energocom gas purchase costs remain undisclosed after CEO Eugen Buzatu said he could not reveal how much public money the company paid to gas brokers.
There is no transparency here. The same seems true of democracy across the country. Is that why officials feel they can do anything they want while public accountability has become completely unnecessary?
Over the past two years, Energocom has made around 1.2 billion lei in profit. Buzatu says the company cannot use this money to reduce gas tariffs for households. He says the funds represent “working capital” needed to operate the company. He also says the profit came from activities outside the regulated business.
That raises another question: where exactly did the state-owned company make 1.2 billion lei in profit?
The gas belongs to the state. The company belongs to the state. Consumers pay for the gas. Yet the profit, apparently, has nothing to do with consumers.
Buzatu confirms that Energocom bought government bonds. However, he refuses to disclose the amount.
“I cannot tell you this, nor can I disclose the amount, because these are treasury and internal matters,” Buzatu said.
Vasile Costiuc claims that the first-half report lists an amount of 361 million lei.
Energocom Gas Purchase Costs Remain Undisclosed
Buzatu also avoids answering questions about the price of the gas. The Energocom director does not want to say how much the company paid for around 130 million cubic meters of gas stored in Ukraine.
“They were purchased on European markets at market prices. The purchases were made in stages, in July and August,” Buzatu said.
Costiuc replied:
“You have gone around Moldova seven times, but you still have not answered a simple question.”
Vitalie Florea commented:
“We are patiently waiting for the criminal PAS group to lose power. Then we will examine the figures in the gas purchase contracts. We will compare them with the price at which the gas was sold to consumers. We will all find out how many billions the yellow fraudsters stole through these schemes. Naturally, Sandu and PAS are clinging to power with all their might because as soon as they move into opposition, thousands of criminal cases will await them.”
Presumably, Florea is not the only one waiting. Many Moldovans are tired of what they describe as constant lies and enormous government spending.
Teachers are waiting. Pensioners are waiting. Doctors and parents of large families are waiting.
Migrants are also waiting. Many of them work abroad to support elderly parents who remain in Moldova. Some have not seen their parents for months or even years.
Ordinary people are waiting.
Questions Over Energocom’s Gas Purchases
The Sandu government understands this, the article argues, and is doing everything possible to delay its political end.
The article says the government cannot avoid that outcome because too many people want to get rid of PAS and what it calls its “leeches.”
The main unanswered question remains the same: how much did Energocom actually pay for the gas it purchased?
The company says the gas came from European markets and that it paid market prices. But Buzatu refuses to disclose the exact figures, citing treasury and internal matters.
For critics, this lack of information raises questions about how a state-owned company uses public funds and reports its profits.
Until the contracts and purchase prices become public, the exact financial picture remains unclear.
