State-owned enterprises to be audited

Speaker Igor Grosu says that the future inquiry committee on the activity of state-owned enterprises will examine how competitions for positions on boards of directors were organized, who sits on these structures, and what results their members have delivered. The official specified that the checks will target all state-owned enterprises and will not overlook possible family ties with politicians.

Asked by journalists about the purpose of the inquiry committee, Igor Grosu stated that it will carry out a comprehensive analysis of the activity of state-owned enterprises.


"The mission of this committee is to analyze all state-owned enterprises, the way competitions were conducted, who is part of these boards, what their performance has been, and in how many boards the same person can be found," the Parliament Speaker said.


Grosu also rejected accusations that PAS representatives control the boards of directors of state-owned enterprises. He said that, out of 76 state-owned enterprises, there are 578 positions in boards of directors, audit committees, and other similar structures, and only 12 of these are held by people in public office.


"Out of 578 positions, I was curious to check how many members are there. I found 12. This is regarding the claim that representatives of the party are in all these committees. No. There are 12, and they are secretaries of state, which are public dignity positions," Grosu stated.


The head of the Legislature noted that the remuneration of members of these boards is linked to the minimum wage and varies depending on the structure they belong to.


"The maximum is the equivalent of a minimum wage. In some boards it is 100% of the minimum wage, in others 50% or 75%. The allowance is paid once a month," he explained.


Igor Grosu also said that the committee's report could reveal situations where the same person is part of several boards of directors, or cases where board members include relatives of MPs.


"You will also see there people who are relatives of some MPs from here. Not necessarily from PAS," the Parliament Speaker declared.


The initiative to create the inquiry committee belongs to PAS MP Dinu Plîngău, who proposed that it include not only MPs from all parliamentary factions, but also investigative journalists, as well as representatives of the National Anticorruption Center and the State Tax Service.


"We need to work on three dimensions: hiring, their profitability, and the situation of enterprises undergoing insolvency procedures. Members of the Committee should be not only MPs from all factions, but also investigative journalists, as well as delegates from the NAC and the Tax Service," Plîngău emphasized.


The creation of the committee comes against the backdrop of scandals in recent weeks regarding the activity of several state-owned enterprises. On July 1, President Maia Sandu requested the verification of all state-owned enterprises in order to determine how public money is used and asked the NAC and the State Tax Service to investigate possible illegalities, regardless of the political affiliation or family ties of the persons involved.

The head of state made this request following the MoldATSA scandal, where an investigative report revealed irregularities in the CV of former director Dumitru Vangheli, who was later dismissed. At the same time, public controversies have arisen regarding the hiring and remuneration of the company’s spokesperson, Anastasia Taburceanu, as well as the allowances collected by members of some boards of directors and observers in state-owned enterprises.

Another widely discussed case was that of the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Energy, Carolina Novac, criticized for the remuneration of over two million lei she obtained from her activity in the Moldovagaz Supervisory Board. In this context, the authorities maintain that the future inquiry committee will analyze how state-owned enterprises are managed, the criteria for appointments, and the level of remuneration granted.