Maia Sandu’s cousin Tatiana Batin leaves Grosu’s team after MoldATSA scandal
Tatiana Batin, the chief of staff for Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu and a cousin of President Maia Sandu, has resigned from her position. Grosu stated that the decision was made "by mutual agreement." The resignation comes in the wake of a scandal involving salaries at MoldATSA, where her sister, Anastasia Taburceanu, earned over one million lei in less than a year after being hired as a spokesperson.
The head of the Legislative Assembly emphasized that resignation was a necessary step to preserve the integrity of the institution. He acknowledged being aware of Tatiana Batin's relationship with the head of state, asserting that this aspect would not have hindered her role within the team.
"We met in political activities, and we have never had any concerns about her performance over time. However, given the deeply troubling incident at that institution, we agreed it was time to end our collaboration," Igor Grosu told journalists at the Parliament on Friday, June 26.
Both Tatiana Batin and Anastasia Taburceanu announced their resignations amid public criticism regarding the millions of lei they earned in a short time.
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, stated that she had no involvement in the hiring of her cousins. "Just as I have the right to hire advisors to the presidency without being required to do so through a competition, so does every Prime Minister, Minister, and Speaker of Parliament. The sister you mentioned (Tatiana Batin) had worked for the party long before PAS reached Parliament. When Igor Grosu became the Speaker of Parliament, she moved on to continue working in the cabinet with him," Maia Sandu declared during a show on Pro TV.
Regarding Anastasia Taburceanu, the President mentioned that she learned from press investigations that Taburceanu was hired at MoldATSA without a competition and that she received a salary. "It is clear that a communicator could not deliver for an amount of 120,000 lei. I cannot understand what a communicator could possibly provide to MoldATSA for such an amount. The only individuals who should receive high, internationally competitive salaries are the controllers, as the safety of the airspace depends on them. The rest appears to be undeserved money. I do not know what she produced. In my opinion, it is immoral to take money that is not earned, and that money must be returned," Maia Sandu stated.
On the same day that Tatiana Batin announced her resignation, TV8 published an investigation targeting her husband, Constantin Batin, who has been leading the Free Entrepreneurship Zone "Expo-Business-Chisinau" for over two years.
Investigative journalists discovered that just weeks before his appointment to manage the state-owned enterprise, Batin allegedly exchanged companies with a Latvian businessman, Marks Blats. At the time of the transaction, Blats was under U.S. sanctions for being part of a network that supplied advanced technologies to the Russian military following the invasion of Ukraine. He was later also sanctioned by the EU, the UK, Latvia, and Ukraine for the same reasons.
Maia Sandu indicated that, in this context, Constantin Batin reached the top of the institution through a competitive process, but she does not know the details of the transactions involving the Latvian businessman. Explanations should be sought from the individuals involved in the investigation, she added.
The Public Property Agency (APP) ordered a comprehensive inspection of MoldATSA to ensure compliance with legal requirements in its payroll process. Dumitru Vangheli, the company's director, was dismissed on June 22 after the Board of Directors revoked his mandate due to the founder's loss of trust. This decision followed a journalistic investigation that uncovered discrepancies in his CV regarding his aviation experience and studies, as well as irregularities in the hiring and promotion of his close associates at the company.
Anastasia Taburceanu announced her resignation on June 23, stating that she would return the bonuses and salary supplements she received.
