The discussion about squandering key sectors of Moldova’s economy took place on the News.by program “That's Different” on September 30, 2025. Vitali Denisov, head of the Sputnik Moldova portal, claimed that because President Maia Sandu holds dual citizenship, foreign interests are allegedly being promoted in the country.
"As for Moldova, I think everything is pretty obvious. Given how the country’s strategic sectors are being squandered, and in whose favor, so to speak, they are being squandered. For example, the only port at the mouth of the Danube with access to the Black Sea — Giurgiulesti — is now being safely handed over to the management of the Port of Constanța, meaning Romania. The country’s power grids have long been transferred, almost entirely, to the control of Romanian operators. (…) And the same with the gas transmission networks. They are practically all already in the hands of Western owners."
Moldova received the land for the Giurgiulesti port from Ukraine in the 2000s in exchange for a section of the Odesa–Reni highway. Two separate entities operate on this territory. The first is the state-owned port. It is fully owned by Moldova and is not for sale.
The second is the Giurgiulesti International Free Port, whose main economic beneficiary since 2013 has been the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In 2021, the bank became the owner of the company operating the port. Now Romania — specifically a state-owned company from Constanța — intends to purchase that operator company. So the operator was in the hands of foreign investors long before Sandu took office.
As for the claim that nearly all Moldovan power grids were handed over to Romanian operators, Denisov likely meant that in July 2025 a new electricity market operator appeared in Moldova — Operatorul Pieței de Energie M LLC (OPEM). It is a subsidiary of a Romanian company. However, OPEM is only a platform for electricity trading, essentially an exchange where sellers and buyers meet. The transmission lines and transformer substations are still owned by the state company Î.S. Moldelectrica. It is responsible for ensuring that electricity from producers reaches the distribution networks.
Electricity is delivered to end consumers by distribution companies. For example, in Chișinău and in the country’s south, electricity is supplied by a private company with foreign investment. But most northern districts are served by the state-owned enterprise SA Furnizarea Energiei Electrice Nord (FEE Nord). Yes, the government occasionally discusses the possibility of privatization, but for now these assets remain under state control.
When it comes to gas transmission networks, Denisov is also off the mark. They are owned by the company SA Moldovagaz. The controlling stake in that company belongs to Russia’s PJSC Gazprom. About 35% of the shares belong to the Moldovan government. A little more than 13% are owned by Transnistria. In other words, Moldova’s gas networks are owned more by Russia than by the West.
The gas transmission networks are managed by the Romanian operator Vestmoldtransgaz S.R.L. It is indeed linked to Western institutions: it is owned by the Romanian state company Transgaz SA and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The company has signed a five-year lease agreement with a Moldovagaz subsidiary, which remains the owner of all the infrastructure.
