OREANDA-NEWS. July 11, 2011. The government assumed the management of debts of the insolvent Investprivatbank bank. Finance Minister Veaceslav Negruta told journalists after the government's meeting that "it is an inherited problem, when the Banca de Economii (Savings Bank) paid the deposits of the Investprivatbank bank.

After the 2009 collapse of the Investprivatbank bank, the then government ruled that the Banca de Economii should take a loan from the National Bank in order to reimburse the debts to the investors of the insolvent bank. Negruta said that the government will repay about 600,000 lei to the Banca de Economii, within a four-year term, of which about 100,000 lei are from private banks. The government hopes to get back the money by selling the assets of the Investprivatbank. Yet, Negruta noted that the process is slow-paced.

Also today, the government intended to increase the fines for transport companies that do not issue tickets. Transport Minister Anatol Salaru said that the transporters do not report fiscally about 40 per cent of the foreign trips and over 30 per cent of the domestic travels, which triggers annual tax losses assessed at hundreds millions lei. Yet, a draft on the amendment of the Contraventional Code was turned down by the cabinet members, in order to reach an agreement over the eventual sanctions for such encroachments.

The regularization of the passenger transport is among Moldova's commitments taken towards the European Union in the context of the liberalization of the visa regime. Also today, the government passed another seven acts which are part of the action plan in this respect.

The cabinet also analyzed the reduction of the number of budget-paid employees, which shall drop from 229,000 in late 2010 to 218,000 by late 2011. Finance Minister Veaceslav Negruta said that the changes due to be operated should not be regarded as dismissals, but as a reduction of the vacant posts, which require public money.