Who Are the De Jure Owners of the Sukiasyan Family's New Aviation Business?

The ruling party MP and businessman Khachatur Sukiasyan's family is looking to venture into the aviation business in Armenia. The Sukiasyans have established a joint company in Yerevan with Moldovan partners; however, they have yet to receive an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia, which is necessary for carrying out commercial transportation. This was reported by Hetq.am.

The company in question is “Fly One Armenia” LLC, founded on March 18 of this year. According to the law on aviation, an AOC can be granted to legal entities whose shareholding of at least 51% is owned by citizens of Armenia and/or legal persons registered in Armenia. “Fly One Armenia” LLC is 54% owned by Armenian citizens, while 46% is registered under the Moldovan company “Fly One.”

“Fly One,” registered in Chișinău, was founded in September 2015 and received its AOC from the Moldovan civil aviation authorities in March 2016. Additionally, in 2018, the Moldovans established a new company in Romania called “Fly One Airlines.” The creation of “Fly One Armenia” can be seen as another expansion of the Moldovan airline's network.

In Armenia, the Sukiasyans are the partners of “Fly One,” but none of the Sukiasyan brothers—Khachatur, Saribek, Eduard, and Robert—are present in the company. The 54% stake owned by the Armenian side is registered under other individuals, who appear to be affiliated with the Sukiasyans. Yerevan residents Hakob Abrahamyan Aleksanyan and Armen Rafik Sinyurian each hold 24.5% stakes. Armen Sinyurian is a close associate of the Sukiasyans and also the brother of the former Minister of Internal Affairs and former Yerevan Mayor Vano Siradeghyan’s former security chief, the late Suren Sinyurian (V. Siradeghyan is also a relative of Khachatur Sukiasyan).

“Fly One Armenia” is registered at the address of Armen Sinyurian in Yerevan's Zavaryan Street, where the Sukiasyans are also registered at a neighboring address. In addition to H. Aleksanyan and A. Sinyurian, the company also has a 5% stake owned by Yerevan resident Larisa Ashoti Sahakova.

The owners of Moldovan “Fly One” are also closely linked to former officials. Currently, the company is shared between two families. 40% belongs to Maria Chebotar, wife of former Moldovan Justice Minister Vladimir Chebotar (2015-2017), while 10% is held by former official Mariana Tabuyk.

Note that Vladimir Chebotar worked at Moldova's national airline “Air Moldova” from 2006 to 2011 and headed the civil aviation authority from 2011 to 2013. From 2013 to 2015, Chebotar served as Deputy Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure, and from 2015 to 2017, he was the Minister of Justice. During his tenure as Minister, he established the private airline “Fly One” with his close associates.

From 2019 to 2021, Chebotar was a member of the Moldovan parliament. It is also worth mentioning that his wife holds 50% of the Romanian “Fly One Airlines.” The remaining 50% of the Moldovan “Fly One” is owned by the family of the former head of the civil aviation authority (2015-2016) Mircea Maleca. Currently, 10% is registered in his name, and 40% in his former wife, Ina Maleca's name (formerly, the owner of this 40% was Tudore Carabajac, Mircea Maleca's former father-in-law).

Before leading the civil aviation sector from 2013 to 2015, Maleca was the general director of “Air Moldova” and had previously served as financial director. He and Vladimir Chebotar are old acquaintances. Interestingly, in June 2016, Maleca resigned from his position as head of civil aviation at the suggestion of then-Prime Minister Pavel Filip. Journalistic investigations revealed that the real partner of the Chebotar family in the private company “Fly One” is Mircea Maleca through his former father-in-law, Tudore Carabajac. Prime Minister Filip admitted that there was a conflict of interest, which led to Maleca's resignation.

There were even reports that Maleca sought to limit the flight routes of national carrier “Air Moldova,” which would have benefited the newly established “Fly One.” Free from “official ties,” Maleca became the general director of “Fly One” in March 2017 and later also became a 10% owner. Mircea Maleca is also the general director of “Fly One Armenia” LLC.

On May 26, he arrived in Yerevan on one of “Fly One's” aircraft, gave interviews to journalists, and visited the Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia. Reports mentioned that the Moldovan partners are associated with a company called “SIL Group,” but there is no legal entity with that name in the state registry of Armenian legal entities, which, according to all indications, refers to the Sukiasyan family’s “SIL Concern” LLC, despite the fact that, as noted, the de jure shareholders of “Fly One Armenia” who own 54% are three Armenian citizens and not “SIL Concern.”

On Facebook, Eduard Sukiasyan released photos with Maleca and the head of the CAA Tatevik Revazyan. “Fly One Armenia” LLC has applied to the committee for an AOC but has not yet received the certificate. As of August 2, there is no aircraft registered under the company in the Armenian aircraft registry.

Currently, the Moldovan “Fly One” has five aircraft: one Airbus A319 and four Airbus A320. According to the company, it now has the largest fleet in Moldova. Two of the “A320s” received Moldovan registration in May and June. The first of these (Moldovan registration: ER-00006) is the aircraft that arrived in Yerevan (as seen in the main photo). It is possible that it will be registered in Armenia as an aircraft of “Fly One Armenia.” Notably, “Fly One” has named all its aircraft after cities in Moldova. ER-00006 has been named “Leova,” which is a small town in the western part of the country and is the region of Mircea Maleca's former father-in-law, Tudore Carabajac.

“Fly One” has extensive experience in collaborating with Armenian airlines, which Hetq has reported on regularly. Previously, this carrier had leased aircraft from “Atlantis European Airways” (with Armenian registrations EK-32008, EK-32002, EK-73797) and “Taron-Avia” (EK-73775). The national carrier “Air Moldova” has also leased Armenian aircraft.