Estonia, Legislation, Markets and Companies

The Local Government Organization Act stipulates that if the chairman of a council, the deputy chairman of a council, the chairman of a council committee, the deputy chairman of a council committee, a member of the audit committee, a rural municipality or city mayor or a member of the government resigns, he or she shall submit an application to the rural municipality or city secretary, Tallinn city government told.

The person who submitted the application is deemed to have resigned as of the date indicated in the application. The rural municipality or city secretary shall immediately inform the chairman of the council or his or her deputy.

Sarapuu is scheduled to make an announcement to the media later.

Officers of the Internal Security Service (ISS) on Thursday morning arrested Sarapuu as suspect in a criminal investigation into alleged irregularities in the waste handling business of Tallinn. The ISS and the Office of the Prosecutor General have since March 1 been handling a criminal case as part of which Sarapuu was now arrested as suspect in knowing violation of a procedural restriction on a particularly large-scale basis. In addition, two other men are suspected of contributing to the violation of procedural restriction on a large-scale basis.

Rain Vaana, board chairman of the waste handling company Ragn-Sells, has described the arrest of the Tallinn deputy mayor responsible for waste handling services as a right step and said that the capital city should now move on with putting the waste management business in order.

"During the past year in particular, all of the biggest media outlets have reported about a potential personal interest of Arvo Sarapuu in waste handling. Ragn-Sells has always stood for a transparent business environment where all market participants are treated equally. Today's news is a step in the right direction," Vaana told LETA/BNS.

"In our opinion it has been sufficiently proven that Baltic Waste Management does not cope with providing the waste transportation service and has been violating the agreement concluded with the city of Tallinn over a longer period of time. Thus the contract with the company must definitely be terminated," he said.

"I addition the plan of Tallinn to prefer in the organization of waste transportation Tallinna Prugila, which belongs to the city, is unlawful," Vaana said.

He added that in both cases holding a new tender is the only correct solution.