“Hetq”: Moldovan Owners of “Fly One Armenia” Have Come Under the Attention of Law Enforcement
According to “Hetq,” Vladimir Cebotari and Mircea Maleca, the owners of 46% of the “Fly One Armenia” airline, have come under the attention of law enforcement in Moldova. On October 2, Moldova’s Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases announced the uncovering of the activities of an organized group. According to the investigation, since 2016, members of the group had systematically used various legal entities and intermediaries to evade taxes. According to the prosecutor’s office, nearly 41 million Moldovan lei (approximately $2.3 million) in undeclared funds were used to replenish the airline’s capital. Unpaid tax liabilities for 2016 alone are estimated at around 5 million lei.
On June 22, following an 11-month study, Moldova’s Council for the Examination of Investments Important to State Security (CEIISS) had made a decision regarding a change in control of Fly One, giving the company’s owners 90 days to take the appropriate steps. Despite this, Cebotari, chairman of Fly One’s board of directors, announced on September 29 that they would not sell their shares. Earlier, on June 10, the Moldovan company had transferred its 46% stake in “Fly One Armenia” to “Fly Solution” LLC, founded in Yerevan in March. The shares in that company are owned equally by Cebotari and Maleca, and the change was registered in Armenia’s State Register on August 14. Thus, Moldova’s Fly One no longer directly owns a stake in the Armenian carrier, but Cebotari and Maleca continue to control it through the newly established Armenian company.
According to the Moldovan prosecutor’s office, on October 1, law enforcement officers conducted searches at the homes, offices, and vehicles of several individuals, seizing accounting documents, cash, computer equipment, and other materials. The investigation is ongoing. As part of the CEIISS study, attention was also focused on possible connections between individuals associated with Fly One and “Fly One Armenia” and persons subject to international sanctions. In this context, Moldovan media mentioned oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, whose close circle included Cebotari. However, no clear information has been presented regarding Plahotniuc’s possible business interests or involvement in Fly One, while Cebotari has denied the existence of any other beneficial owners. In April 2026, Plahotniuc was sentenced to 19 years in prison for leading a criminal organization, money laundering, and fraud.
Cebotari and Maleca are former public officials: the former served as Moldova’s Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2017 and subsequently became a member of parliament, while Maleca headed the country’s civil aviation sector from 2015 to 2016. Fly One began operations during their tenure in office. Following a journalistic investigation that revealed Maleca’s connection to the airline’s owners, Moldova’s prime minister admitted that a conflict of interest existed, and Maleca resigned. The transfer of the Armenian stake in “Fly One Armenia” took place at a time when a demand had already been made in Moldova for Fly One’s owners to change the company’s control structure.