Moldova’s search for new energy sources and supply routes has led the government to reopen discussions with Igor Makarov, a Moldovan-Cypriot energy entrepreneur whose former group once supplied the country with Turkmen gas and invested in local industry.
The talks remain exploratory. No investment program, supply contract or construction project has been agreed. But recent comments from Prime Minister Vasile Tofan and Makarov have provided a clearer picture of how the discussions began, what both sides hope to examine and the conditions that would shape any future cooperation.
For the Moldovan government, those conditions include transparency and public confidence. For Makarov, the immediate potential priority is targeted assistance to hospitals and other institutions facing high energy costs, while his group, ARETI, assesses commercially viable investments that could support Moldova’s longer-term development.
In an interview published in October, Prime Minister Tofan confirmed that he had met Makarov as the government looked for alternative natural-gas sources and routes. He said Moldova had been trying to open doors that had long remained closed and that major gas exporters, along with influential and respected figures from the U.S. administration, had identified Makarov as someone who might help.
The prime minister also said he personally encouraged Makarov to explain his intentions publicly, including in a Russian-language television program. He said he did not want any potential relationship with the government to be kept from Moldovan citizens.
“I want to work with transparent people,” Prime Minister Tofan said, adding that anything Makarov might eventually do in Moldova should take place in public view.
The prime minister acknowledged that trust would have to be earned before any cooperation could advance. At the same time, he defended the decision to hold discussions, saying he was responsible for protecting Moldova’s interests and seeking additional energy options ahead of a difficult winter.
A Public Account of the Talks
Makarov presented his position several weeks earlier during a lengthy TV8 interview broadcast on September 21. He described a possible return to Moldova as more than a commercial venture, pointing to his citizenship, his long history in the country, and what he considers a responsibility to contribute during another period of energy uncertainty.
“I am also a citizen of Moldova,” Makarov mentioned. He explained that ARETI might seek to rebuild a business presence in the country while initially concentrating on charitable support for hospitals and other institutions struggling with high energy costs.
After his visit to Chișinău, Makarov reinforced that message in a post on X. Calling the trip a “productive visit,” he said his goal was to identify practical ways to help Moldova while exploring sustainable, commercially viable investments that could support its long-term development.
That emphasis is important because Makarov has not presented himself as an immediate solution to Moldova’s energy challenges. Instead, he has described a process of finding projects that would create durable economic value for both Moldova and investors.
The approach broadly corresponds with the government’s near-term procurement strategy. Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu said on September 30 that Moldova viewed direct contracts with producers as the most competitive option for current gas purchases. Separately, the government is pursuing diversified supplies and longer-term agreements. Under that framework, Makarov and ARETI would be more likely to develop a role over time than provide an immediate answer for the coming winter.
A Decades-Long Moldovan Connection
Makarov’s possible return has drawn attention partly because he has spent much of his career out of the public spotlight. He has said that the mystery surrounding him reflects his decision to focus on building businesses rather than cultivating a public profile. His relationship with Moldova, although decades old, has likewise received relatively little international attention.
That relationship began during the expansion of ITERA, the energy group Makarov founded. In the 1990s and early 2000s, ITERA delivered Turkmen gas to Moldova and other former Soviet republics. It also became involved with Moldovan industrial companies facing financial and operational difficulties.
Among those businesses was the Moldovan Metallurgical Plant in Rîbnița. According to Makarov, the plant had accumulated about $70 million in unpaid gas debts to ITERA. His company later acquired an interest in the plant, invested in modernized equipment and greater operational efficiency, and eventually sold its stake after improving the plant’s financial performance.
ITERA also acquired and rehabilitated Moldcarton, a cardboard manufacturer. After investments intended to restore operations and profitability, the business was sold as part of ITERA’s divestment of non-core assets.
In 2004, Makarov proposed investing in a 450-megawatt power plant near Burlăceni. That project was never completed. Makarov has said the plan became unworkable after ITERA lost access to the transit routes it needed to transport Turkmen natural gas and secure fuel for the proposed plant.
“Unexpectedly for me, I was awarded a Moldovan order and given a passport in 2005,” Makarov told TV8 while recalling that period.
A presidential decree dated August 25, 2005, formally granted him citizenship of the Republic of Moldova. His Moldovan citizenship therefore predates Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on him in 2022 by nearly 17 years.
Makarov remains in a sanctions dispute with Canada. His position there differs from that in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, each of which has removed him from its respective sanctions regime.
ITERA’s presence in Moldova eventually diminished after Gazprom stopped transporting Turkmen gas, limiting ITERA’s ability to supply Moldova and other markets. In 2013, Makarov sold ITERA’s Russian energy subsidiary. He subsequently rebuilt his business interests outside Russia under ARETI.
ARETI Studies a Broader Return
Makarov now says ARETI is considering a return to Moldova on a wider basis. He traveled to Chișinău with a delegation that included financial specialists and met with Prime Minister Tofan and Junghietu for roughly three hours.
According to Makarov, the group is reviewing opportunities not only in natural gas but also in finance and the supply of oil and petroleum products. Prime Minister Tofan later confirmed the meeting and its general purpose.
Speaking in Parliament, the prime minister described Makarov as a Moldovan citizen with experience in international gas trading, including bringing Turkmen gas to Europe and Moldova. Prime Minister Tofan said Makarov had expressed a desire to help and that he had asked the entrepreneur to identify humanitarian projects he could support in the country.
Makarov has stressed that any commercial re-entry would require patience and long-term planning. “The energy business is not a one-off business,” he said. In his view, serious participation would require a roadmap covering at least five years, supported by a framework in which Moldova and private investors could both see clear economic value.
He has also avoided promising cheaper gas immediately. He explains that considerable preparation would be necessary before deliveries could begin, making next year a more realistic possibility than the approaching winter.
Assistance Before Investment
The most immediate proposal is therefore humanitarian rather than commercial. Makarov has offered to pay part of hospitals’ gas costs and potentially support other institutions or vulnerable groups selected by the Moldovan government.
He said the assistance should be transparent and directed toward clearly identified needs, not provided as an unspecified pool of money. Once the government identifies hospitals, schools, or other institutions facing acute pressure, his group would review the relevant bills and provide support directly, so the destination of the funds is clear.
Makarov describes that approach as consistent with a principle his companies have followed for decades: businesses should contribute to the communities in which they operate.
His website lists healthcare, children’s welfare, disability inclusion, education and community projects among the causes he and his companies have supported over the past three decades. The listed initiatives include work with Downside Up to assist children with Down syndrome; tactile and audio-enhanced books for visually impaired children; medical-assistance projects in Central Asia; and the creation of a public park in Limassol, Cyprus.
Some of the larger initiatives have also been independently documented. Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach identifies its Adult Autism Clinic as dedicated by the Makarov Foundation and says the clinic provides specialized primary and medical care to adults on the autism spectrum.
In 2020, the Makarov Foundation served as presenting sponsor of the Tour de Broward fundraiser for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Florida. Contemporary reporting said the event raised $703,642 for hospital programs, facilities and services. Makarov’s website also lists cooperation with Best Buddies International and Make-A-Wish, as well as assistance for retired and disabled athletes.
That record provides context for why the first concrete element of the Moldova initiative involves winter energy bills rather than a major infrastructure announcement.
Regional Potential, but No Final Plan
Makarov believes Moldova’s location between European markets and Ukraine could eventually allow it to serve as a larger regional energy platform. Reaching that point, he has said, would require appropriate infrastructure, a workable contractual system and strong relationships with suppliers.
He has highlighted long-term planning, gas-storage capacity and diversified supply arrangements as areas of potential importance. However, he has not announced a finalized project, a specific investment amount or a construction schedule.
His stated position is that the economics and technical feasibility must first be examined. Any substantial infrastructure investment would also require a stable agreement and cooperation between private investors and the Moldovan government.
That cautious language leaves the discussions firmly at the exploratory stage. Prime Minister Tofan has similarly described his talks with Makarov as one part of a broader search for options, not an exclusive arrangement or a promise of a future role.
The prime minister’s recent public explanation has clarified that the contact was neither accidental nor secret. It grew out of Moldova’s effort to expand its energy options, and Tofan deliberately encouraged Makarov to present his plans publicly. Whether those plans progress will depend on commercial viability, transparency, and public confidence.
