Alexandru Munteanu’s resignation came as pressure has intensified over alleged corruption in a state-owned company.

Moldova’s Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu has resigned from a position he has held since November, in a surprise announcement that also triggered the resignation of the government.

“The moment I realized that I could no longer carry out my mandate in accordance with ‌my principles and convictions, I chose to step down,” Munteanu said in a post on social media on Friday.

“I will continue to ⁠serve my country from whatever position I may hold,” he added.

Munteanu, 65, gave no further details.

The move is a challenge for President Maia Sandu and her ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), now in its second consecutive term.

According to Moldova’s parliamentary procedure, Sandu will hold consultations with parliamentary groups and then nominate ⁠a candidate for prime minister.

Sandu said on Friday that Munteanu will continue to act in his role until ‌a new prime minister is appointed “quickly”. She said consultations will begin next week before appointing a new candidate.

Munteanu was ⁠appointed following parliamentary elections in September 2025 in which PAS resoundingly defeated a Russia-leaning rival and won a renewed mandate to pursue Moldova’s European ⁠Union (EU) drive.

Before that, he worked outside Moldova for some 20 years, including for ⁠the World Bank.

Fallout over corruption scandal

President Sandu on Friday denied that Munteanu had been restricted in his government action.

“Speculation that he wanted to combat abuses but was not permitted to do so is false,” Sandu told a news conference.

“The prime minister had a free hand to run the government as he saw fit,” she added, stating she had hoped for “greater involvement” from Munteanu “in difficult decisions, and a stronger public presence to listen to people’s concerns and explain which reforms we need to undertake and why they are necessary.”

The government has been under increasing pressure over a scandal involving a state-owned aviation company, MoldATSA.

There had been allegations over appointments and governance. According to reports, the director of MoldATSA had faked his CV. Additionally, a cousin of the president had been directly appointed to a public relations role, then received salary increases which allowed her payout to be eight times Moldova’s median wage.

A special investigative committee was established on Thursday to examine the management of state-owned companies.

The panel will review recruitment procedures for senior management positions, the composition of boards of directors and cases in which individuals simultaneously hold positions in multiple public institutions.

Moldova is a candidate for EU membership. Nestled between Ukraine and EU member Romania, it has a Romanian-speaking majority and a large Russian-speaking minority. Political power has oscillated for decades between parties supporting closer ‌ties with ‌Europe and those seeking better relations with Moscow.