President Maia Sandu has said she was unaware of abuses at the state-owned air navigation company MoldATSA, describing the controversy as a systemic failure that requires immediate intervention.
Speaking at a press conference on July 1, Sandu acknowledged that the scandal had damaged public trust and announced a package of changes covering senior appointments, supervisory boards and financial oversight at state enterprises. She also said “some fraudsters” had exploited the authorities’ difficulty in finding suitable managers for important public institutions. The president did not identify the individuals to whom she was referring.
MoldATSA scandal response focuses on systemic failures
“What happened at MoldATSA, as well as other violations of common sense that have taken place, is incompatible with my values and with our objective of building European institutions,” Sandu mentioned.
She argued that preferential treatment, unjustified benefits and the misuse of public money were unacceptable. The involvement of someone close to her, she added, required an even firmer response.
“I did not know about these abuses, but that is not an excuse. It shows that what happened was a systemic failure requiring immediate intervention,” she said.
The president called on the National Anticorruption Centre (CNA) and the State Tax Service to examine salary payments, procurement and other expenditure at state-owned enterprises regardless of political affiliation or family connections.
“Nothing can serve as a shield to justify abuses. Any money obtained without merit or through abuse must be returned to the state. Everyone who acted improperly must be held accountable,” she claimed.
Sandu distances herself from Anastasia Taburceanu
Journalists also questioned the president about her cousin, Anastasia Taburceanu, who worked as a communications specialist at MoldATSA and received more than half a million lei over several months, according to information published during the scandal. Taburceanu subsequently resigned and said she would return the bonuses and additional payments she had received.
“I cannot understand what happened in Anastasia Taburceanu’s case. I do not recognise her in these actions and cannot explain them,” Sandu said. “Unfortunately, in every family, or almost every family, there is someone who does something that later gives you a headache. I regret this.”
Asked how many of her relatives worked in public institutions, the president said she could not immediately provide a complete list.
“Some work in state institutions and most have worked there for a long time. Others have also worked in the private sector for many years,” she said. “I believe the overwhelming majority are honest people who earned and continue to earn their salaries honestly.”
The answer is unlikely to end questions about nepotism and informal influence within public institutions. Critics argue that the scandal has exposed weaknesses in recruitment and oversight that cannot be explained solely by the misconduct of individual employees.
Intelligence and anticorruption checks proposed
As part of the MoldATSA scandal response, Sandu proposed changing the system used to appoint managers to key state positions. She said assessments by the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) and the National Anticorruption Centre should become mandatory. Information about candidates’ previous employment should be verified, and references should be obtained from former employers.
“It is very difficult to identify suitable people for certain positions. That is why several institutions have had acting managers for years,” she said. “As we can see, some fraudsters exploited this difficulty, and there may be others. We therefore need to reconsider how people are appointed to key positions.”
The proposal would give the security and anticorruption bodies a greater role in senior public appointments. While supporters may view this as an additional integrity safeguard, critics could question whether such powers are accompanied by sufficient transparency and avenues for appeal.
Supervisory boards face restructuring
Sandu also called for a review of all supervisory and administrative boards overseeing state enterprises. The government should reduce the number of board members, prevent one person from serving on several boards simultaneously and establish clear rules governing remuneration, she said.
State companies would also be required to publish performance indicators every six months. Annual disclosures would include financial statements, external audit reports, board reports, senior management remuneration and procurement records.
The president further proposed dividing the Public Property Agency into two bodies. One would manage commercially viable enterprises and seek to modernise them, while the other would administer land, buildings and insolvent or non-productive assets.
She also called for minority stakes in qualifying state assets to be listed on Moldovan or regional stock exchanges, arguing that this could improve transparency and corporate governance.
“General clean-up” promised
The president said all state enterprises should undergo short-term inspections focused particularly on salaries and public procurement. She also instructed the State Chancellery to review consulting contracts financed through foreign assistance and determine whether they meet institutions’ needs and deliver adequate results.
“We will carry out a general clean-up, and everyone who broke the law will be punished,” Sandu said.
She urged members of PAS to examine whether officials at every level continued to uphold the principles on which the party had been founded.
The MoldATSA scandal response includes wider inspections and structural changes, but its credibility will depend on whether responsibility extends beyond resignations and disciplinary measures against a limited number of officials.
The central question remains how recruitment practices, unusually high remuneration and weak supervision continued for so long without effective intervention from the institutions responsible for managing state property.
