The Guernsey based company NR Investments Ltd has concluded a purchase agreement for 95 percent of Avia Invest, the Moldovan company that currently manages the Chișinău International Airport. The government plans to use the diplomatic momentum from the new agreement to renegotiate some conditions in the concession contract, such as the modernisation of the Airport and the passenger tax. 

On August 12, deputies from the Parliamentary Commission investigating the Chișinău Airport concession, requested that the General Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anticorruption Center analyze the actions of officials and other persons regarding the concession of Chișinău Airport. The deputies also asked the law enforcement bodies to take precautionary measures so that this concession contract does not go from one company to another.

On August 19, representatives of Avia Invest and NR Investments Ltd ratified a purchase agreement for 95 percent of the Avia Invest company. 

Avia Invest has yet to go public about the agreement, but on the Airport’s Facebook page it was mentioned that Nathaniel Philip Victor James Rothschild, is the new owner of Avia Invest. The magazine Airport World also reported on the transaction, stating that more details will be made public in September.

Avia Invest manager, Petru Jardan, who is also a member of the Șor Party faction in the Parliament stated: “I also read [this] in the press. Regarding the transaction, it is information that goes beyond me. I do not know what the founders do.”

The next day, on August 20 the Minister of Economy, Vadim Brînzan said during a press conference that he plans to meet with Nathaniel Rothschild, to try and renegotiate some conditions in the concession contract.   

According to Brînzan, it would be possible to renegotiate the nine-euro tax paid by each passenger for the modernization of the airport at the cost of the ticket. 

“From the nine-euro tax, 27 million euros are collected annually. Some of this money goes to the Civil Aviation Authority, i.e. 1.75 euros per passenger. We can negotiate this amount so that a larger part will be for the benefit of the state,” Brânzan said.

The Minister of Economy also said he would ask the new owner to invest in the modernization of the infrastructure at Chișinău Airport.

When asked about the possibility of terminating the contract, so that Chișinău Airport can return to state management, Brînzan said that “the fraudulent intention underlying this contract” must first be demonstrated.

“The return of the Airport to the management of the state involves a complex and complicated procedure that can take three to four years, and also [involves] major costs. It takes international lawyers, probably going to different courts,” Brînzan concluded.

On August 21, President Igor Dodon announced an urgent meeting of the Superior Security Council, related to the change of ownership of Avia Invest company. The President claimed that he asked the Ministry of Economy and other state institutions to prepare information related to this transaction.

“The meeting will discuss the risks for the state related to this transaction and the solutions for restoring the airport to state management. The law enforcement bodies will present the information regarding the investigation of the circumstances of airport concession. The Ministry of Economy will inform the Superior Security Council and the company about how Avia Invest has fulfilled its contractual obligations on the investment program, from the money collected from passengers,” Igor Dodon wrote on his Facebook page.

Nathaniel Rothschild is a British financier and a member of the Rothschild family – the largest private wealth holders in the world during the nineteenth century. The family’s wealth was divided among different descendants and today their interests cover a wide range of sectors, including financial services, real estate, mining, energy, mixed agriculture, winemaking and nonprofit organizations. The Rothschild family has frequently been the subject of conspiracy theories, many of which have anti-Semitic origins.

Founded in 2007, NR Investments has experience in investing in property and infrastructure. Previous investments include the Porto Montenegro seaport; Trigranit, the largest real estate developer in Central Europe and the Korda Studios film complex in Budapest, Hungary. 

• Disputed Privatizations and Concessions