Wandering in the sisters: Moldova is shaken by the largest corruption scandal
Moldova is being rocked by the largest corruption scandal in recent years. Investigative journalists found out that President Maia Sandu's cousin worked for a large state-owned company and received a salary eight times higher than the average — about 120 thousand lei. The opposition has already announced that it is launching impeachment proceedings against the president in this regard. Izvestia investigated the situation.
What happened
Moldovan media published a series of investigations about the work of the state-owned company MoldATSA. It is a natural monopolist that engages in air traffic control activities and ensures security in the Moldovan skies.
It turned out that the director of this structure, Dumitru Vangeli, had received a salary of 110,000 lei (475,000 rubles), which is much higher than his predecessor's. The main thing was the lies in the official biography — Vangeli attributed himself to studying at the Canadian aviation school and working as a pilot for Air Canada.
The journalists noted that it turned out to be very easy to catch the official in a lie, because the aircraft listed in his resume were simply not in the company's fleet at that time. In addition, Air Canada explicitly stated that they had never had such an employee. The official himself tried to justify himself rather absurdly, claiming that he was carrying out some secret missions, although friends told reporters that Vangeli actually worked as a courier in Canada.
An additional piquant detail was that the head of MoldATSA got his girlfriend a job at the company. The girl was first appointed to the position of an internal auditor, and then promoted to director of the department. Observers found it especially sweet that the employment decree was signed on February 14, that is, on Valentine's Day.
However, all this was just a prologue to the main storyline. It turned out that Anastasia Taburceanu, the cousin of President Maia Sandu, worked in the same MoldATSA company as a press secretary. She received her position without competitive selection, while her salary was 120 thousand lei (more than 500 thousand rubles), that is, more than the director.
Taburceanu explained her income by active recycling, although the last three-sentence press release on the company's website appeared in August last year. In addition, Sandu's sister provided some communication services to the Moldovan government, being an adviser to Prime Minister Dorin Rechan in 2023-2025. At the same time, she did not file an income statement.
What was the reaction
Against the background of the scandal, information appeared about other relatives of Sandu. It was reported that another cousin of the president, Tatiana Batina, worked as the chief of staff of the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Igor Grosu, and resigned at the end of June. Another relative, Nicoleta Kolomeets, received more than 1 million lei in salary from the public institution "Agency of Electronic Management".
The political consequences of all these stories were not long in coming. First, the chairman of the parliamentary Commission on Economy, Budget and Finance, Radu Marian, who promoted Vangeli to the post, resigned. He stated that he believes it is right to take responsibility for the personnel decision. At the same time, the deputy stressed that he did not know anything about abuses in the company.
Then Roman Kozhukhar, director of the State Property Agency, resigned. He also stated that he feels responsible for the failed work of MoldATSA. Finally, the Moldovan government announced a restructuring of the system of state-owned enterprises, an audit of the boards of directors and an audit of all managers.
Apparently, the resignation of Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandre Munteanu is also connected with this scandal. At first, at a cabinet meeting, he called what was happening a systemic challenge and speculated about the reorganization of the State Property Agency. Two days later, however, he resigned his position. He did not say anything about the reasons for the decision, but noted that he could not continue to work in accordance with his principles and beliefs.
Interestingly, President Maia Sandu remained silent for a long time, but eventually called a special press conference. During the event, she said that she did not know anything about the abuse. "I can't understand what happened in Anastasia's case, I don't recognize her and I can't explain what happened. In every family, there is a person who creates trouble, after which you have to worry," said the head of Moldova.
The opposition does not hide its indignation at what happened. Former President and leader of the Party of Socialists Igor Dodon recalled that Sandu came to power under the slogan of fighting corruption. "The scandal surrounding salaries, relatives and state—owned enterprises is just the tip of the iceberg. I am convinced that we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid, and all this should be carefully checked," he said.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu
Former Prime Minister Vlad Filat said that Sandu's carefully constructed image had collapsed. According to him, the people of the country saw the president for what she really is: an incompetent leader who has no answers to the simplest questions. "I don't know", "I found out from the press", "I need to check", "not my competence". That's all she could get out of herself in such a situation," the politician stressed.
Finally, another former Prime Minister, Ion Chicu, said that lawyers are preparing documents to launch impeachment proceedings. According to the legislation, initially the initiative should be supported by a third of all members of parliament, the opposition can theoretically collect these votes. In the future, two-thirds should speak out for the suspension of powers, Sandu's opponents no longer have so many mandates, although the very formulation of the issue will hit the ruling party quite hard.
What the experts say
Moldovan political analyst Alexander Korinenko believes that the current scandal will have long-lasting political consequences. According to him, Maya Sandu had been building an image of an incorruptible pro-European leader for a long time, but in the end "everyone saw overnight that she was an ordinary businessman."
— I think that gradually people will be drawn to leave the ruling party, it has long become toxic, and now it is perceived even worse. Perhaps new political parties will appear. Plus, the image of European integration has suffered, and the country's residents have seen that the worst corrupt officials can function under the EU flag," the expert explains.
In turn, Moldovan political analyst Corneliu Ciurea believes that the investigations have hurt Sandu's reputation. There is an understanding in society that the president has surrounded herself with close relatives who profit at the expense of the state.
— I note that these sentiments are fueled, among other things, by the pro-government press, which covers all these scandalous stories in detail. I suspect that this is due to some kind of split within the ruling team," says the source.
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