Baltic States – CIS, Democracy , Estonia, Financial Services, Funds, Russia, Society

"Materials in the Edgar Savisaar criminal investigation file reveal an unpleasant fact: Savisaar and the party's then financial secretary Kalev Kallo wished to get rapidly a concealed donation from United Russia in 2014 to get money for the Center Party's campaign ahead of the parliamentary elections," the paper said.

Postimees published a description based on surveillance information of Savisaar and Kallo meeting on Nov. 30, 2014 in Poska House, Tallinn with two men named Stanislav Alter and Viktor Tarassov. The first of them is a car businessman of motley background acting in the Manniku district of Tallinn, who makes frequent visits to Russia, and the second a retired person who had become a member of the Center Party a month earlier. Tarassov works as guard at the student home of Tallinna Majanduskool and has been an active member of Russian parties in Estonia. It has been claimed to Postimees that he has a security services background from the Soviet times.

The participants in the meeting spoke about the poor financial standing of the Center Party during the run-up to the previous general elections of 2011 due to laws banning banks from lending to political parties. During the meeting, Alter indicates the possibility to bring money for the party from Russia. Alter says he is about to travel to the Russian cities of Pskov and St. Petersburg the following day and meet with the chief financial officer of the United Russia party of Vladimir Putin, among others.

Savisaar then comes up with a plan: direct moving of money no matter in what manner would be too dangerous. The way out would be for the money from United Russia to move via some Estonian company or individual to a nonprofit organization linked to the Center Party. To legalize the movement of money, the Center Party would draw up a letter showing that the money was received as payment for consultancy services provided by workers of the NPO, Postimees said.

Kallo, Tarassov and Alter met on repeated occasions during the next one-and-a-half months. The topics discussed included MPs' salaries and the Center Party's campaign costs, but they never came to the point of handing over money.

Savisaar first became a target of accusations of having asked money from Russia at the end of 2010 and in materials made available by the Internal Security Service (ISS) he was described as a Russian influence agent. In oral briefings of the president, the prime minister and the interior minister, the ISS described the actions of Savisaar as a security risk and suspected him of influence peddling.

This week, Postimees has on two occasions published data contained in the charges moved against Savisaar without disclosing the source that it received the statement of charges from.

The Office of the Prosecutor General at the end of November lodged charges against Savisaar, the Center Party, chairman of the City Council of Tallinn Kalev Kallo, a former adviser to the city government and five businesspeople. Savisaar has been charged with repeated agreeing to the acceptance of a bribe on a big scale and acceptance thereof, money laundering committed on a big scale, embezzlement committed on a big scale and on repeated occasions, and acceptance of prohibited donations for the party on a big scale. According to the charges, acting in his capacity as mayor of Tallinn, Savisaar accepted bribe and agreed in this connection to fulfil his work duties.

The court has not set a date for the start of the hearings yet.