The airline "Fly One Armenia" was established in March of this year in Armenia by the family of the Armenian pro-government MP Khachatur Sukiasyan in cooperation with the Moldovan company Fly One, which owns 46 percent of the business, hetq.am reports (Internet-magazine "Hetq" ["Urma"] founded in 2001 by Armenian "Investigative Journalists").

None of the Sukiasyan brothers - Khachatur, Saribek, Eduard and Robert - indicate any relationship to the 54 percent share of "Fly One Armenia". Other Armenian citizens are listed as owners; however, they are obviously connected to the Sukiasyan family.

In regard to the Moldovan share of the business (see the Center for Investigative Journalism in Moldova study), Armenian journalists wrote that the owners of "Fly One" are people linked to former Moldovan dignitaries. A 40% share belongs to Maria Cebotari, the wife of Moldova's former Justice Minister in 2015-2017 - Vladimir Cebotari. Another 10% of the shares belong to the sister of the same former official - Mariana Tabuica.

The publication wrote that after working in state transport institutions between 2006 and 2015, during his tenure as justice minister between 2015 and 2017, Cebotari and others founded the private airline Fly One. After that, in 2018, the Moldovans founded Fly One Airlines in Romania, where Cebotari's wife owns 50% of the business.

The establishment of Fly One Armenia can be considered another expansion of the Moldovan airline network.

Referring to other former public employees who projected their authority of office on developing a private business, Hetq points to the family of Mircea Maleca, former head of the Moldovan Civil Aviation Administration (2015-2016) who owns the remaining 50% of Moldovan Fly One. Before heading the civil aviation branch, Maleca was CEO at Air Moldova in 2013-2015 and before that its CFO. Currently, 10% of the business is registered in his name and 40% in the name of his ex-wife Ina Maleca.

The Armenian journalists noted that Mircea Maleca and Vladimir Cebotari are old acquaintances.

In June 2016, Maleca reportedly wanted to restrict the flights of national carrier Air Moldova in favour of the newly created Fly One. Under pressure from then-Prime Minister Pavel Filip, who accused him of a conflict of interest, Maleca resigned as head of civil aviation. Freed from his "official shackles", in March 2017, Maleca became CEO of Fly One, and later owner of 10 percent of the business.

According to Herq, who describes the business career of the former public asset managers, Mircea Maleca is also CEO of Fly One Armenia LLC.