THE AIRPORT OF CHISINAU WILL BE NATIONALIZED THROUGH THE BANKRUPTCY

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova at a press briefing on May 18 informed the reporters that the government will file a lawsuit for the bankruptcy of the Avia Invest company. For the moment, the company manages the Airport of Chisinau on the basis of a concession agreement.

According to Ion Kiku, the company became insolvent, owing about 22 million lei. However, on the same day, The CEO of Avia Invest told the reporters that the authorities intentionally make the company to go bankrupt by freezing the bank accounts and not allowing to make the payments, although the company has money.

In 2013, the airport was given under concession for 49 years, but over the past year, the republic’s authorities have repeatedly tried to nationalize it. In particular, the various normative acts were adopted to abrogate the decisions of the authorities made in 2012-2013 and related to the concession.

Now, apparently, the process will take place in the court, where the state will try to make the company of the concessionaire go bankrupt.

The political campaign to nationalize the facility was launched last summer. The parliamentarians of the republic stated that they would check the legality of the concession agreement, concluded in 2013 - then two Russian companies won the tender, having established Avia Invest with equal share participation. For several years, the owners had changed many times, including the various offshore companies, connected with the odious names of Ilan Shor, Nathaniel Rothschild and others.

Since December 22nd, Andrei Goncharenko has become the main owner of the Avia Invest with a 95% share. He announced the plans to invest € 200 million in the development of the airport infrastructure. However, the idea to increase the passenger flow from 3 to 5 million people, apparently, will remain only a statement, as in February 2020, Goncharenko has sold his share in Komaksavia company.

The experts believe that the Moldovan authorities want to nationalize the airport by removing Avia Invest from the management.

A week earlier, the President of Moldova confirmed this information. Igor Dodon announced that there are three options for nationalization: through the termination of the contract, its cancellation or by means of the bankruptcy proceedings. The Prime Minister Kiku’s reference to paragraph 26.1 of the concession of the agreement, according to which the insolvency may become the basis for the termination of the contract, suggests that the Moldovan leadership has chosen the third option. However, whether it will be implemented is still a big question.