Igor Chaika Refuses from Moldovan TV Channels. Primul in Moldova and Accent TV Declare Their New Beneficiary Owners

According to the official data, the changes regarding the shareholders of the company which owned Primul in Moldova and Accent TV were registered in mid-summer. This is Media Invest Service, an enterprise from the Russian Federation, which previously belonged to Igor Chaika (51%) and Vadim Ciubara (49%). Media Invest Service is the founder of Telesistem which owns the two channels’ broadcasting licenses.

Currently, the company is owned by an enterprise named Obyedinennye Resursy (“Unified Resources” in Russian) in proportion of 100%, according to the official response from the Broadcasting Council. The document states that the company founded in 2020 belongs to Samvel Grigorian (50%) and Natalia Ermilova (50%). The BC also affirms that the information provided by Telesistem is dated August 13, whereas the list of founders of Media Invest Service was amended on August 11, the day when Media Azi requested the information.  

The data the Council provides conforms to the information from the State Register of Legal Entities of the Russian Federation. Moreover, reports regarding legal issues between Igor Chaika and Media Invest Service are also mentioned in the documents. On June 30, 2021, a pledge agreement where Chaika is mentioned as a pledge creditor was signed. The document demonstrates that the changes were introduced in the database on July 7. In addition, Vadim Ciubara lost his company shares, but kept his position as administrator, and the public documents were amended on August 11, according to the BC’s announcement.

Samvel Grigorean is a businessman also registered as the founder of Tandem, a construction company in St. Petersburg, which has the same legal address as Obyedinennye Resursy.

In December 2019, businessman Igor Chaika, the son of ex-Prosecutor General of Russia, obtained a 51% share in Media Invest Service, whereas Vadim Ciubara owned 49%.

The monitoring reports prepared by the civil society and the Broadcasting Council demonstrate that the channels in question favored the Socialist Party and the ex-president Igor Dodon during the last electoral campaign.