Olesea Stamate, leader of the Building Trust civic movement, has criticised the authorities for appointing a MoldATSA director who allegedly submitted false information about his qualifications.
In a video address, Stamate said MoldATSA chief Dmitrii Vangheli had misrepresented his professional background despite leading the state enterprise responsible for air traffic management and aviation safety in Moldova. A journalistic investigation by Ziarul de Gardă reported that several claims in his CV could not be verified, including a Canadian pilot’s licence, employment with Air Canada and his stated number of flight hours.
MoldATSA chief accused of lacking qualifications
Stamate argued that Vangheli did not have the education or professional skills required for such a sensitive position.
“To be absolutely clear: MoldATSA is the authority that manages and is responsible for flight safety. It is a highly important institution. Yet the ruling party appointed someone who claimed to have a pilot’s diploma and to have worked at Air Canada for two years. Both claims turned out to be false. In other words, this person has neither the qualifications nor the necessary education to perform this role,” she highlighted.
The politician also noted that, after his appointment, Vangheli donated 40,000 lei to the ruling party. In her view, this raises questions about the authorities’ stated commitment to merit-based appointments. She said recruitment mechanisms within state institutions had failed and argued that public claims of professionalism and transparency were not reflected in actual personnel decisions.
Appointment procedures face scrutiny
Questions about the MoldATSA chief had previously appeared on several Telegram channels, but they did not lead to an official review. According to the Ziarul de Gardă investigation, the authenticity of the documents submitted by Vangheli, as well as his employment history, was not properly verified before his appointment.
The case has therefore prompted wider concerns about oversight procedures for appointments to strategically important state institutions. Given MoldATSA’s responsibility for managing air traffic and contributing to flight safety, critics argue that professional credentials should have been subjected to particularly rigorous checks.
Director suspended pending investigation
Following publication of the allegations, Dmitrii Vangheli was suspended from his position as director of the state-owned enterprise MoldATSA.
The Public Property Agency announced an internal investigation into information published online concerning “the legality and authenticity of the documents submitted in the competition dossier of MoldATSA state enterprise director Dmitrii Vangheli, as well as other aspects relating to the management of the enterprise”.
The agency said Vangheli’s duties would remain suspended until the commission presented its findings and the institution’s founder reached a decision. Vitalie-Silviu Midrigan will serve as acting director during the investigation.
The suspension represents the first formal response to the controversy, although the inquiry has yet to determine whether the allegations concerning the director’s qualifications and submitted documents are substantiated.
