Banks, Estonia, Financial Services, Legislation, Real Estate

Toomas Tool.

Toomas Tool said that today’s decision shows that the judge had thoroughly learned the mechanics of the securities market. “The decision gives a feeling of security to investors acting in the securities market that normal trading with securities is possible and allowed. Thus the court decision offers protection against unfounded accusations and guarantees credibility of the bourse,” Tool told ERR news portal.

North Estonian District Prosecutor Maria Sutt said that she will certainly appeal the court decision in Tallinn District Court, writes LETA.

Tool was accused of, while being an authorised representative of his wife, giving selling orders of a large amount of shares at a SEB account connected to his wife, to SEB bank broker Karoly Kirber on July 14-21, 2008. The order specified selling the shares at a price that became gradually lower.

Allegedly the aim of that was to bring the market price of real estate company Arco Vara share below 0.56 euro, which enabled Tool to influence other large owners of Arco Vara in making decisions. Altogether around 500,000 shares were sold this way and the result was that the bourse traders were mislead about the real market value of AS Arco Vara and the price of the share fell to 0.55 euro by the end of bourse day on July 22, 2008.

Suspicions arose about the fact that Tool, who became a major shareholder of Arco Vara later, managed to make his first share purchase at such a good time. Tool bought 5 million Arco Vara shares on July 4 last year with an OTC deal, becoming the owner of 5.25% of the company.

Five days later, Arco Vara announced of a stock buyback programme that companies use to support their share price. SEB organised the programme and when it started, Tool owned already 11% of the company.

Currently Tool’s company Freier Projekt OÜ is the biggest shareholder of Arco Vara with nearly 23.5% of shares.