With the Porto Franco criminal case ruling now in effect
viewers of ETV investigative show "Pealtnägija" got the chance to hear firsthand the conversations which led to a top businessman
the former secretary-general of the Center Party
also led to the collapse of the Center-EKRE-Isamaa coalition and the resignation of Jüri Ratas
Estonia has seen its fair share of political scandals and criminal cases involving politicians down the years
yet the Porto Franco case was the first in 30 years of restored independence to bring down an actual government
Following a Supreme Court ruling finalizing the matter
former Center Party secretary-general Mihhail Korb
and the Center Party as a legal entity were found guilty of influence peddling
including conversations involving the guilty parties
and "Pealtnägija" broadcast a selection of these
starting with a phone call from Korb to Teder made on February 6
as follows (Excerpts are copied from the court records in their original form):
This apparently jovial conversation in February 2020 marks the very start of legally intercepted calls in a criminal case that led to the biggest political upheaval in years
then an MP and the Center Party's secretary-general; on the other
Neither one of them—one of Estonia's wealthiest men and the ruling party's secretary-general—could have had any inkling at the time that this apparently trivial exchange would contribute to the collapse of a democratic government one year later
Teder: Do you have a little bit of time on Sunday
Teder was good enough to speak to "Pealtnägija" himself and explained things as follows:
And its title is 'How to destroy the Center Party.' In the first part
State prosecutor Taavi Pern meanwhile told the show: "[Teder] claims that the prosecution still holds a grudge against the Center Party from the old [party co-founder and former Tallinn mayor] Edgar Savisaar corruption case and that he just got caught in the crossfire
To get to grips with this "thriller," we need to set the stage
Hillar Teder became one of Estonia's wealthiest men back in the early 2000s when he sold a juice factory in St
a cartel associated with Teder began developing an ambitious commercial and residential complex much closer to home
between Tallinn's derelict Linnahall and the Admiralty Basin marina in the Old City Harbor district
which itself was starting to undergo a major facelift
This is where the Porto Franco project comes in
One of the main shareholders and representatives of the 150,000-square-meter Porto Franco development was Hillar's son
The project was primarily financed via the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
and other suspicious wordplay," Teder continued
"Porto Franco is actually the largest foreign investment in Estonia's real estate sector and the most expensive construction project ever undertaken here
The second main character in this story is not a person but a political party—the Center Party—now in opposition in Tallinn and at the national level
in power in Tallinn and ruling alone for a couple of decades
Center had repeatedly found itself in the Internal Security Service's (ISS) crosshairs
thanks to corruption allegations and links with Russia—the party had had an agreement with Vladimir Putin's United Russia party
Teder got on well with Edgar Savisaar and sponsored his party both openly and
Teder was among those charged with bribery
with Savisaar being the alleged bribed party
At the heart of the matter lay a company called Midfield OÜ
who had secretly been funneling money from several major businesspeople into the party's coffers
ultimately escaped prosecution due to his poor health; Teder reached a plea deal that required him to pay €200,000 in substantive fines
What is key to remember here is that the Center Party was still left saddled with around €1 million in debt to Pettai's firm
as a result of this affair—campaigning work done by Midfield back in 2015 was adjudged to constitute an illicit donation
this left the party in dire financial straits by 2020
the Porto Franco project was running into issues of its own
The causes of this are a longer saga unto themselves
a ramp leading to the development's underground parking was planned but would pass via city-owned land
The parking lot includes public paid parking spaces
The city demanded €800,000 for the related easement
as it was the City of Tallinn that had demanded the Porto Franco developers construct the access road in the first place
'Now pay €800,000 for that.' This was outright discrimination—compared to other developers
Porto Franco was asked to pay a massive sum for something others had received for free
the demand was illegal because the city's own regulations state that the servitude fee must be calculated based on what has been charged for similar servitudes elsewhere," said Hillar Teder's representative
now is the time to pay closer attention still
as we return to the juicy conversations that kicked off this tale
Korb is back from his ski trip to the Italian Alps and suggests meeting right away
The meeting place is chosen as the T1 Mall; Korb says he has a family event in the same building
while Teder is on his way to the nearby airport too
Surveillance cameras capture them in the Fibo restaurant; despite significant background noise
mics are able to pick up the conversation the pair are having too
Teder steers the discussion toward the matter of his son Rauno seemingly not being able to get a meeting set up with the Tallinn mayor
we should somehow work in such a way where we handle our party things separately ..
and now someone should work with Rauno in the city government
"By the time Hillar Teder and Mihhail Korb met in February 2020
this process had already been going on for more than two and a half years
the city government had been unlawfully extorting money from the developer
they did it in a way that made it impossible to take them to court—because as long as there was no official decision from the city government
That is a clever extortion tactic: On the one hand
they delay any official decision which could be legally contested," Kurm further commented
Teder said of his part: "All I did was tell Korb that nothing was moving ahead with the city government; that investors who had sent letters weren't even being responded to."
Maybe we can get this sorted because we're starting to run out of time
Without an entry tunnel to the subterranean parking lot
Porto Franco would have been something like an airport without a runway
the missing detail had also started to raise red flags for those banks who were supposed to provide major financing for the development
In the clandestinely recorded conversation above
Korb at least gives the impression that he has spoken to the mayor about it and promises to do so once more
Korb: That sounds like … that sounds all too good
I think I'll do it like this: Start drip-feeding it in month by month
Then … then it just happens simply like that
and… and I don't know if we even need to explain it to anyone
To "Pealtnägija," Teder said: "Anyone who listens to that conversation from start to finish can see that this is not where a million is being agreed on
That's not how a million-euro deal gets made."
it is not viable to interpret this conversation as some kind of illicit deal
as some sort of agreement in which Hillar Teder's donations were conditional."
Teder and his legal defense argue that the conversation was actually about the Center Party's longstanding million-euro debt to the advertising firm Midfield
The "drip-feeding" line in fact becomes the centerpiece of the prosecution's evidence
and I think we had plenty of it in this case
It is rare that just a few days after launching active measures
I expected that we'd have to be on the job for months
searching for tiny needles in haystacks and trying to piece the fragments all together
"But it was a surprise just how well it all came together
put significant effort into piecing together these fragments
surveillance recorded Korb and Kõlvart meeting in a car parked in front of Mayor Kõlvart's home
They spoke for a few minutes before stepping outside
said that this was a case of mistaken identity
"I already answered this question in court when the honorable prosecutor asked me whether I smoke
But there is an expression in the Russian language that doesn't literally mean people are going out for a smoke — it simply means they are going for a walk or to talk," the former mayor explained
Undercover surveillance picked up multiple
sometimes cryptic phone calls between mayor and party secretary general
Korb even booked private rooms in restaurants to host these discussions
this does not necessarily mean they are having a secret meeting
We definitely met at the city hall and in this office too — many times
the idea that Mihhail Korb could 'influence' me is
if 'influence' means that he told me Teder wanted to meet with me and I responded that there is a procedure to go through for such meetings
and that the meeting took place through that procedure — then I don't know
But if influencing means making a specific request or pushing for a specific outcome
my response would be very clear: No one can influence me," he added
The mayor insisted that there was no secret backroom deal and that he had directed the Porto Franco matter via official channels
Korb was whispering updates to Teder about how things were progressing
I'm doing the rounds in Kyiv and in Cyprus now
Pern said: "When I collated these conversations with the other evidence
I saw that the moment money came up in the discussion
suddenly arranging a meeting became possible."
Emails that had allegedly gone unread were suddenly being read
the mayor telegraphed that the issue needed to be resolved — an issue that had gone unresolved for months
And that a compromise had to be found," Pern went on
Rauno Teder finally gets to meet with the mayor and the responsible city officials
The son reports to his father that things are finally moving forward
in this phone conversation from the same day
Rauno Teder: Where exactly this agreement falls
City officials then pull out an alternative calculation from their drawer
suggesting that the servitude fee could now instead be €300,000 — half a million euros less than the original sum demanded
Kõlvart takes up the story: "The first decision was indeed incorrect — it was not lawful and did not follow the principle of equal treatment."
"The second decision was made following analysis
and discussions — it wasn't just pulled out of thin air
It was deliberated upon among various departments and officials
And the arguments presented by the developer were taken into consideration too
including developers; if a mistake has been made
and steered the conversation back to party funding:
but if you … if you could maybe … if you could think about our things a little…
it's just that right now… it's getting a little tight
The material paints a clear picture: On the one hand
the Center Party's finances were in dire straits
as the Political Party Financing Supervision Committee (ERJK) was preparing yet another injunction
the Teders were pushing to finalize the easement deal already agreed on with the City of Tallinn
Hillar Teder instructed his accountant to transfer €5,000 from his personal account to an NGO called Ausad Valimised ("Honest elections") MTÜ with the reference: "Support for Savisaar's birthday party," which came at the end of the following month
and in any case the very next day the city government formally approved the servitude fee at €300,000
The final agreement was signed in early June
The events and phone calls outlined above coincided with the very first wave of the Covid pandemic worldwide and in Estonia
Societies and economies shut down overnight
and Porto Franco was not spared financial complications
A financial lifeline was sought from the state-run KredEx fund
Teder may have initially been put under surveillance due to his dealings with the Center Party
but investigators subsequently also discovered suspicious communications with Kersti Kracht
an adviser to then-Finance Minister Martin Helme (EKRE)
Indeed the Kracht-KredEx nexus was one of the most focused-on aspects of the case early on in its reporting and before the court hearings
The prosecution's case states that Kracht had been
at risk of losing her home; Teder allegedly proposed a scheme which would transfer ownership to a proxy
the adviser reportedly supported Teder's business interests
those involved have not been able to comment further
including reports that Teder and Kracht repeatedly met on a deserted beach
The pair were already acquainted with each other
while Teder said the location was the result of the strictures of the pandemic
"Kracht is a friend of my wife," Teder told "Pealtnägija."
One of my residences is on Klooga beach (west of Tallinn - ed.)
I can say that Kracht is opposed to vaccinations
So if you wanted to meet with Kracht during Covid times
you had two options — either have tea next to the house
When asked if he helped Kracht conceal the true ownership of her house
Teder responded that this allegation was fabricated
The ISS swooped; the main players were taken into custody
paving the way for Kaja Kallas to take office as prime minister – though in a bipartite coalition with Center
the major criminal case was split into two: The so-called Porto Franco case and then the KredEx-Kracht case
While the defendants have all provided numerous explanations
claiming that the conversations and meetings referenced in this report had been either jokes
the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in February this year that all of it formed a criminal pattern
Teder and Korb were handed one and a half years in suspended sentence; the Center Party was fined a million euros
the same sum it had owed in the wake of the Midfield affair
The individuals involved continue to deny all and any wrongdoing and culpability
Teder said: "My life has reached the point you read about in history books; where every day you must be ready for that knock on your door."
He said he plans to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights
Mihhail Korb and Kersti Kracht were approached
to provide fresh comment ahead of this article
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(2014) Arctic marine fishes and their fisheries in light of global change
it is expected that the Arctic will be developing as an area of increasing economic interest and investment attractiveness
While there is no panacea to resolve all the region’s problems at once
and there no universal instrument for ensuring comprehensive socio-economic development in the Arctic
the establishment of free ports –ports under a “porto franco” regime –may boost social and economic growth of the Arctic region by facilitating investment
and essential research and development activities
Establishing free ports may increase the amount of foreign direct investments
and subsequently enhance social-economic development of the regions
a “porto franco” regime may be a significant contribution towards the “blue economy” and sustainability of the regional development in the Arctic
(2017) Human Capital Development in the Russian Arctic
The Interconnected Arctic — UArctic Congress 2016
Springer Polar Sciences&nbsp;There is a demand for highly qualified specialists
particularly in such spheres as construction
environmental protection and marine industries
These issues will be discussed in the paragraphs below
if there was more political will to establish free port regime on a grand scale
this would be an effective stimulant for socio-economic development across the Arctic
free ports envisage lower tax rates and tariffs
lenient state control requirements and other incentives
which differ from the rest territory of the country
Free ports are created with the explicit aim of attracting investment
promoting trade and boosting domestic manufacturing activity and local employment
Despite the variation of how free ports are structured and administered in different countries
the key tangible benefits they can offer are broadly consistent and fall into four main categories: duty exemption
it appears to be a successful example of regional development.&nbsp;
Modern tariff regimes usually prescribe that finished goods (products) are often subjected to a lower tariff rate than their component parts
This encourages importing finished goods rather than importing their components
The regime of free port allows a company to import components duty free
then to manufacture a product on the territory of the port
and then import a finished product to the host economy while paying less import duties
This advantage generally envisages a temporary (usually from 5 to 10 years) financial support to incentivize beneficial and genuinely new economic activity
Typical examples include lower value added tax (VAT) rates on goods brought in through the port
and reduced rates of corporation tax for companies located within the port
ideas of establishing free ports and similar initiatives have been increasing their presence in the minds of Russian and Canadian officials and experts.&nbsp;
it can be seen that the High North territories occupy more than one third of the country
this area is pierced with many sea channels and straits
The future of Canada can hardly be imagined without the comprehensive development of its Arctic territories
have a strategic geographical position as a bridge between Asia and Europe
premier has a sweeping vision for Canada&#8217;s North
Interview of Bob McLeod While there has been limited effort on Canada’s part to encourage investment and population growth in its northern regions
Russia is actively composing a new development strategy of the Arctic and introducing special policies (see section below)
has also introduced an Arctic strategy and has been developing many infrastructure projects with a plan to expand the area of such projects to the Arctic
the restricted approach taken by Canada to cultivate its Arctic territory seems irrational
there are no concrete and tangible policies which are explicitly devoted to boosting economic development in the Arctic territories
While the benefits of a free port regime have not gained much attention in the Canadian Government
it may be an appropriate instrument of socio-economic development
free ports in the Canadian Arctic can benefit from a convenient geographical location
as they will be closer to Europe and Russia by sea and to Asia by air
The establishment and further development of free ports in the Canadian North can turn the region to a multimodal transportation hub
the development of free ports and marine infrastructure in Canadian Arctic would be a good and timely response to increasing volume of trade and traffic in the High North
there are no concrete initiatives under discussion in Canada which would reflect or invoke the principle of “porto franco”
due to the recent pro-active position of Arctic economic development demonstrated by Russia and China
the Canadian Government may pay more attention to special programs of socio-economic development of its northern regions going forward
Russia has more extensive practice of using special legal regimes for development of far-distant regions
One of the most prominent examples is the Free Port of Vladivostok
The status of a free port was granted to&nbsp;the city earlier (from 1861 to 1909)
and a new era of free trade started there from October 12
According to the economic growth assessment made by the experts
the creation of the free port of Vladivostok should lead to an increase of the&nbsp;GRDP&nbsp;of the region
reaching 2.2 times its initial rate in 2025 and 3.4 times in 2034
This port introduces low tax incentives for investors&nbsp;(instead of company income tax (CIT) at the&nbsp;usual 20 percent rate
the Vladivostok Free Port CIT rate is&nbsp;5 percent for&nbsp;the first 5 years
then 12 percent during the next&nbsp;5 years)
The port is an increasing center for auto production and has increased its TEU capacity by 200,000 per annum
The example of Vladivostok shows how a special legal regime of “porto franco” can positively shape maritime shipping.&nbsp;Relative success of the free port in Vladivostok motivated the Russian Government to implement such initiative in other seaports
The initiative to implement a “porto franco” regime was chosen as an instrument to accelerate the development of the Arctic region
the bill passed the first reading and is likely to be adopted by the end of summer 2020
a “porto franco” regime can serve as an additional argument in favor of the Northern Sea Route’s effectiveness
the Arctic region contains dozens of potentially successful
The Arctic network of free ports will make it easier and more cost-effective for businesses to set up operations away from major seaports which already exist
Opening new shipping routes through the network of free ports will surely optimize business processes of shipment companies
Free ports are likely to have a spillover effect and
Increasing the share of manufacturing activity in the economies of the Russian and Canadian Arctic regions would have positive effects on productivity
Supply chain flexibility offered by free ports can be used by auto manufacturers
and food processors who are dealing with perishable products
restrictions on free exchange of the best-available technologies and services) complicates socio-economic development in the Arctic
the idea of a free trade zone is highly supported by the private sector
which motivates the Council not to abandon the free trade area initiative
In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
2011&nbsp;Such legal and policy instruments can specifically cover activities in free ports
thus ensuring eco-safety and sustainability of businesses in Arctic free ports
The Arctic states used to play a key role in supporting successful cooperation in the region and meeting the challenges that now confront the region
The Arctic is currently one of the most lucrative regions for economic development
Taking into account some positive findings presented in the Business Index North 2019 report
we can be more optimistic about the idea of free ports along the Northern Sea Route
some Arctic seaports may theoretically enter the world’s top 50 ports in terms of overall capacity by 2028
“Porto franco” may be a significant contribution towards the “blue economy” and sustainability of the regional development in the Arctic
But a sufficient political will of all the Arctic states is required in order to effectively implement the free trade policies
<a href="mailto:atugushev2-c@my.cityu.edu.hk">Anton Tugushev</a>
Researcher at City University of Hong Kong
References[<a id="footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_18525_1">+</a>]
The Arctic Institute is a 501(c)3 tax exempt nonprofit organisation with a network of researchers across the world
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the Supreme Court of Estonia upheld the decision of Tallinn Circuit Court made last March
its former secretary general Mihhail Korb and businessman Hillar Teder of trading in influence
Tallinn Circuit Court overturned the previous acquittal by Harju County Court in the Porto Franco case and issued a new verdict
former Center Party secretary general Mihhail Korb and the Center Party guilty of influence peddling
Teder and the Center Party had appealed for the ruling made by Tallinn Circuit Court to be overturned
the Supreme Court ruled it would leave the circuit court's decision unchanged
but supplemented the reasoning behind the ruling
The court also dismissed requests from the defense lawyers to compensate the defendants for the costs of the proceedings
The sentences imposed by Tallinn Circuit Court therefore remain in force
The circuit court previously sentenced Teder to one year and five months in prison
specifying that his prison sentence would not be enforced in full if Teder does not commit a new intentional crime during a two-year probation period
The court also sentenced Korb to one year and two months in prison
likewise specifying that his prison sentence would not be enforced in full if Korb does not commit a new intentional crime during two years of probation
was sentenced to a pecuniary punishment of €750,000
The court then increased the punishment for the new offense by €250,000 – the amount still outstanding from a previous pecuniary punishment to which the party was sentenced by Harju County Court on September 5
2019 – bringing the Center Party's aggregate punishment to a total of €1 million
The second-tier court found that the existence of an influence peddling agreement dating back to February 9
the court found that the influence peddling agreement was sufficiently specific
meaning that the expected action had been determined and that this was not some sort of abstract agreement
The court determined that the donation Teder had offered the Center Party was quid pro quo to Korb
who had promised to influence the mayor of Tallinn
Korb had also expressed acceptance of this so-called donation to that end
the parties had at least broadly agreed on how and toward what objective someone should start working
Tallinn Circuit Court found that on February 9
when Hillar Teder offered the Center Party the so-called donation during a meeting with party secretary general Mihhail Korb
such an agreement was unambiguously perceptible
Teder had wanted to reach an agreement swiftly regarding the dispute between his associated company Porto Franco and the municipality over the easement fee
which was based on the conclusion of a €100 million loan agreement
The Supreme Court agreed with the circuit court that the conclusion of an influence peddling agreement between Hillar Teder and Mihhail Korb had been proven
The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court emphasized that entering into an agreement whereby the promisor or provider of property or other benefits believes (even if potentially mistakenly) that they will succeed in obtaining some kind of substantial advantage from a public official as a result
the mere conclusion of an agreement of this type undermines confidence in the integrity of public authorities
The Supreme Court explained that the influence of one person over another may derive from their official position or social status
While it may be concluded that the capacity to influence a public official is primarily vested in a person of a higher position or a person close to them
the circuit court had reasoned convincingly that Korb was in a position to influence the mayor's will and decisions by virtue of his power to influence the running of the political party
The Center Party's defense team accused the circuit court of failing to take into account the party's financial situation when deciding on the sentence
The Supreme Court explained that since the sentence is intended to cause the perpetrator tangible losses
a person's vulnerability to punishment has to be assessed in the context of the time the sentence was imposed
In light of the party's revenue and expenditure for 2023
Harju County Court initially acquitted all the defendants in their entirety in the case
there was no influence peddling in relation to Porto Franco
Prime minister resigns after party named as suspect in inquiry into property project
</a>Estonia’s prime minister has resigned after police and prosecutors launched an investigation into an alleged corruption scandal involving his left-leaning Centre party related to a property development
handed his resignation letter to the president on Wednesday
bringing down the centre-right coalition government he heads that also includes a far-right party
“The suspicion expressed by the public prosecutor’s office … does not mean that someone is definitely guilty
but it will inevitably cast a serious shadow over all those involved,” Ratas said on his Facebook page
“In such a situation it seems only right that by resigning myself I will give the opportunity to shed light on all the facts and come to clarity.” The prime minister added he had “not made any malicious or knowingly wrong decisions”
He took the decision after meeting party officials on Tuesday night
hours after the Centre party was declared a suspect in a criminal investigation over the financing of a property development project in the capital
Ratas lost the 2019 general election to the centre-right Reform party but prevented the victors from taking power by forming a coalition with the conservative Fatherland party and the far-right
now has 14 days to name a new prime minister
who will have to be approved by parliament
There will be elections if no candidate for premier can command a majority among MPs
The investigation centres on a property company called Porto Franco
which received a €39m state loan and struck a lucrative deal with authorities in Tallinn – whose mayor is a member of the Centre party – for a development in the old city harbour
The party is accused of accepting donations from a businessman linked to Porto Franco
Among other suspects in the investigation is Kersti Kracht
I … did not feel in the Porto Franco case that any minister or party had tried to influence the decisions taken by the government in an illegal way.”
The resignation comes a day before the coalition government was due to vote on an EKRE proposal for a national referendum on the definition of marriage
In Estonia, the parliament has backed allowing to criminally persecute legislator Mihhail Korb of the Centre Party, which is part of the Estonian government and the ruling political force in Tallinn. Prosecutors seek to determine his role in the Porto Franco case of alleged influence peddling, <a href="https://news.err.ee/1608569089/riigikogu-strips-mihhail-korb-of-immunity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ERR reports</a>
the Riigikogu adopted the motion to strip Korb of immunity passed with 82 votes out of 101
Addressing his fellow legislators Korb asked the parliament to support the motion
The former Secretary General of the Centre Party said that it was necessary to allow him to defend himself in court sooner
Read also: <a style="color: #800000;" title="Estonian media: Land for of corruption-investigated construction project sold at EUR 340 000 discount" href="https://bnn-news.com/estonian-media-land-for-of-corruption-investigated-construction-project-sold-at-eur-340-000-discount-221074" target="_blank" rel="bookmark noopener">Estonian media: Land for of corruption-investigated construction project sold at EUR 340 000 discount</a>
The Estonian Office of the Prosecutor General has stated it suspect the politician of having committed a crime in the second degree
serving at the time as the party&#8217;s secretary general
allegedly agreed in 2020 that the former would donate a million euros to the Centre Party over a period of one year in exchange for the city granting Teder&#8217;s Porto Franco real estate development the right to build access roads at a favourable price
the President and Rector of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
Member of the Board of the Hospitality Innovation School and Rauno Teder
Chairman of the Board of Porto Franco signed a contract
&nbsp;&nbsp;The foundation established in Estonia by&nbsp;Haaga-Helia&nbsp;University of Applied Sciences will open an international institution of applied higher education in Porto Franco
which will admit the first students in 2020
&ldquo;For years Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences has been cooperating with the Estonian hotel
We are now taking a step forward and establishing an institution of professional higher education in Tallinn in accordance with Estonian law
The curriculum of the Haaga-Helia school combines the needs of the hotel
restaurant and tourism industry with strong innovation experience - this will open up a global labor market for graduates of the specialty,&quot;&nbsp;said&nbsp;Teemu Kokko
President and Rector of Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.&nbsp;&ldquo;In Estonia
our new school The Nordic School of Hospitality &amp; Innovation - Haaga-Helia Tallinn will teach the curriculum International Hospitality &amp; Service Excellency
which will be taught in English and the main target group is foreign students.&rdquo;
there will be an international higher education institution in Porto Franco - it will definitely bring young and active foreign professionals to the center as well as provide an opportunity to create a new type of synergy.&quot; Porto Franco is a great location for teaching hotel and tourism specialties
as it is located directly in the tourism gate of Tallinn,&rdquo; said&nbsp;Rauno Teder,&nbsp;Chairman of the Board of Porto Franco
&ldquo;Haaga-Helia is a highly respected institution of applied higher education in Finland with a long history
which is the largest and most prestigious institution of hotel and tourism business in the Nordic countries
from earlier cooperation with the Estonian Business School (EBS)
already a well-known and recognized partner in Estonia for professionals working in the field
the cooperation with whom will continue in the framework of the new school
the new school will include leading universities in its field from Germany
The school will move to Porto Franco in the autumn of 2020 and will be located on a separate floor of approximately 855 m2
Haaga-Helia&nbsp;acted in the Estonian and Baltic market under the name of the Haaga-Helia Hospitality Competence Center and Haaga-Helia Balti O&Uuml; in cooperation with EBS in 2015&ndash;2019
providing in-service training and club activities for the partner network in the form of Hospitality Insiders Club Estonia
but currently it will only focus on opening a new institution of higher education in Estonia
Haaga-Helia is a member of the Estonian Hotels and Restaurants Association
the Estonian Association of Travel Agents and the Rural Tourism NGO
Haaga-Helia is a Finnish institution of higher education providing business-oriented higher education
whose mission is to train service and sales minded and entrepreneurial specialists and conduct research in this area
the school has about 10,500 students and over 630 teaching staff
The Porto Franco&nbsp;concept was created by Chapman Taylor
the architects of the building complex are Ott Kadarik and Mihkel T&uuml;&uuml;r
and the main designer is Estkonsult O&Uuml;
The house is designed and built according to LEED Gold standards
The proximity of the Porto Franco to the sea and the Old Town offers a creative and inspiring atmosphere
Porto Franco&nbsp;(<a href="http://www.portofranco.ee/" target="_blank">www.portofranco.ee</a>) is a unique real estate development that opens the city center of Tallinn to the sea
being the only seafront business and leisure area in the capital
EUR 190 million is invested in the development of Porto Franco
and the new multi-functional city quarter will have a surface area of over 150000 m2
The Porto Franco complex consists of three underground floors with 1170 parking spaces
and five above ground floors for a shopping center
Porto Franco is being developed by Porto Franco O&Uuml;
The shareholders of Porto Franco O&Uuml; are successful companies that
invest in long-term projects that create added value to the Estonian business environment
The company&#39;s management has long-standing international experience in the development of office and commercial premises
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19 landmarks were damaged as a result of the shelling of the city center
The historic center of Odessa is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site
This was <a rel="nofollow" href="https://t.me/odesacityofficial/37800">reported</a> by Odessa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov on Telegram
The Bristol Hotel building suffered significant destruction
the full extent of which has yet to be determined
it is one of the most striking architectural structures in the central part of the city
&quot;As a result of the powerful blast wave
19 cultural heritage landmarks sustained varying degrees of damage,&quot; Trukhanov stated
The main damages include shattered windowpanes and displaced wooden fittings
Among the affected sites are two landmarks of national significance&mdash;the Philharmonic Hall (New Exchange) and the Vuchini House (19 Italiiska Street)&mdash;as well as two museums: the Museum of Western and Eastern Art and a branch of the Literary Museum (Sicard House)
Stained glass and authentic wooden fittings in large arched windows were significantly damaged in the buildings of the Union of Architects of Ukraine and Porto-Franco Bank
the most valuable of the damaged buildings is the Philharmonic Hall (Exchange Market)
the Philharmonic Hall has been under enhanced UNESCO protection
The Supreme Court of Estonia has accepted the Center Party's appeal of its guilty verdict in the Porto Franco real estate development criminal case and will begin discussing the case
the second-tier Tallinn Circuit Court found Hillar Teder
the Center Party and the party's former secretary general Mihhail Korb guilty of influence peddling
"The decision by the Supreme Court was expected
because the charges in this case do not meet the criteria for influence peddling," said Center Party defense attorney Oliver Nääs
"The county court correctly determined that there was no influence peddling and that no unjust agreement was made in the interests of Porto Franco."
it is clear that Porto Franco was not given any unfair or unjustified advantage from Tallinn city government in connection with the disputed easement fee," he added
Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pern noted that the Supreme Court's decision to accept the case in no way indicates the Supreme Court's stance on the charges involved
"The court can only form an opinion after evaluating the evidence," Pern said
"Only the highest court can shape legal precedent
and the fact that it is the Supreme Court that will provide the definitive assessment of the evidence and legal issues is welcomed."
The chief state prosecutor highlighted that the Porto Franco criminal case marked the first time in Estonia that a court found a political party guilty of a repeated crime committed during a probation period
"This ruling sent the message that no one should gain an unfair advantage in dealings with the state or local government simply because they know or financially support someone," he explained
"The circuit court agreed with the prosecution that Hillar Teder and Center Party representative Mihhail Korb had mutually agreed that in exchange for financial support to the party
the Center Party would leverage its influence over Tallinn Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart to resolve the easement issue in Porto Franco's favor," he continued
"The Prosecutor's Office finds that Harju County Court initially delivered an acquittal because it overlooked several important pieces of evidence," Pern said
"We brought this to the attention of the circuit court
concluded that the charges were fully substantiated
Since two tiers of courts have issued different rulings on the legal issues related to influence peddling
then it's only natural that the Supreme Court has accepted the Porto Franco criminal case."
Circuit court overturns county court acquittals
The circuit court sentenced Teder to one year and five months in prison
The court found that it had been proven that Teder had offered assets to the Center Party via senior party executive Mihhail Korb in exchange for Korb and the Center Party using their influence over the mayor to ensure that the Porto Franco development would be given an unjustified and unfair advantage in the public interest when applying for an easement with the Tallinn city government
The court noted that an influence peddling agreement may but need not be explicit
but that it must be objectively perceptible
It found that in a situation where this would have been Teder's usual
there would have been no reason whatsoever to consider or contemplate that it not be associated with prior agreements
Likewise there would have been no need to use expressions of understanding after the donation was made
Investigative weekly Eesti Ekspress noted at the time that this Tallinn Circuit Court was a pivotal one
as Harju County Court had fully acquitted all of the defendants in the case last fall because Judge Aime Ivanson
believed that absolutely no influence peddling occurred whatsoever in connection with the Porto Franco development
Teder and the Center Party's defense attorneys all appealed to have the Tallinn Circuit Court ruling finding them guilty in the Porto Franco case overturned
FC Porto have bought André Franco from Estoril for €4 million
The 24-year-old midfielder has signed a five-year contract at the Estádio do Dragão
It is Porto’s third signing of the close season
after the purchases of David Carmo and Gabriel Veron
Franco began his career in the youth ranks of Sporting and Belenenses before signing for Estoril to play for their U23 team in the 2018/19 season
The Lisbon native soon progressed to the senior team though
helping the club get promoted to the Primeira Liga then enjoying a stellar campaign last season
scoring 11 goals and providing four assists in 38 matches
The offensive midfielder has been touted by several pundits as the perfect replacement for Fábio Vieira
who was sold to Arsenal at the start of the summer
“As soon as I found out other clubs were interested in me through my agents and also Estoril
I said I wanted to wait and see if Porto came in for me
Signing for a big club is the dream of any player
Being at a club the size of FC Porto makes me extremely proud,” said Franco
Estonia's Center Party has received a payment schedule for the €1 million fine imposed by the upheld ruling in the Porto Franco case
"We have the option to pay this within a year
according to the schedule," Center Party secretary general Anneli Ott told ERR
the party has until next April to pay off the €1 million fine
"The first €120,000 is what we will pay immediately
and then we will follow the schedule with 12 installments," she said
"We have thoroughly reviewed our budget and accounted for this
and I believe that with the provided payment schedule
we'll manage just fine," the secretary general continued
"We're already currently in a position to begin making these payments."
the Center Party will be left with a monthly payment of around €73,000
Ott also added that the party's members support the Center Party's participation in the local government council elections coming up this fall
On February 7, the Supreme Court of Estonia upheld Tallinn Circuit Court's March 2024 ruling convicting the Center Party, its former secretary general Mihhail Korb and businessman Hillar Teder of influence peddling in<a href="https://news.err.ee/1609598996/supreme-court-upholds-convictions-in-porto-franco-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> the Porto Franco case</a>
Both Teder and Korb were issued suspended prison sentences by the second-tier court — of one year and five months and one year and two months
respectively — which will not be enforced if the defendants do not commit any new intentional criminal offenses within a two-year probation period
The circuit court then increased this fine by €250,000 — the amount still outstanding from a previous
September 2019 ruling against the party by Harju County Court &nbsp;— bringing the Center Party's aggregate fine to a total of €1 million
As the opposition Center Party grapples with a €1 million fine
has called for past leadership accountability at a time when party members have been appealed to for donations
Those donations have already run into the tens of thousands of euros
we are responsible for what happened four years ago
He continued: "I believe it would be fair for the previous board to take responsibility
board members are collectively responsible for decisions made under their leadership."
Despite serving on the Center Party board at the time
Kõlvart conceded he was: "Embarrassed to say that
despite believing I was part of the leadership
Amid the party's financial troubles in the wake of the fine resulting from the so-called Porto Franco case
Kõlvart said Center is assessing whether to make a financial claim against its former leader
The Center Party had been fined €750,000 by a lower-tier court which
combined with an unpaid portion of a previous penalty
The Supreme Court upheld the ruling on Friday
Businessman Hillar Teder had been sentenced to to one year and five months' jail time in suspended sentence; former secretary general of the party Mihhail Korb received the same sentence
in relation to a corruption conviction arising from the Porto Franco development in central Tallinn
Kõlvart said: "We are talking about three to four days
and already tens of thousands have come in." He added: "Money is coming in daily
are contributing what they can—whether large donations or symbolic contributions
It shows their commitment," the Center leader stressed
A recent Center Party New Year event attended by 700 people was reportedly funded by party members who attended
Kõlvart also addressed the potential expulsion of former secretary general Korb
saying it could serve a political purpose but would distance the party from accountability
we risk presenting ourselves as blameless."
While he called Korb's court ruling unfair
he insisted the party must not deflect responsibility
Center itself was also found guilty in the Porto Franco ruling
which related to influence peddling in getting the project built
When the initial news of the scandal broke in January 2021
Ratas left Center last year to join Isamaa
Harju County Court found former adviser to the minister of finance
guilty of violating procedural restrictions in a corruption case and handed her a six-month suspended prison sentence
The Harju County Court found Kersti Kracht guilty of violating procedural restrictions and sentenced her to six months in prison
crediting time already served in pretrial detention
four months and 26 days of the sentence remain to be served
Kracht was convicted of making decisions between 2019 and 2021 in favor of the law firm TGS Baltic while serving as an adviser to then-Minister of Finance Martin Helme (EKRE)
Kracht should have recused herself from discussions in which she had a conflict of interest
The prison sentence will not be enforced in full if Kracht does not commit a new intentional crime during a one-year probation period
Toomas Tamm and Jüri Põld of the crimes they had been accused of
Kracht allegedly solicited a bribe from Teder
who in turn was accused of promising a large sum in bribes
Prosecutors claimed Teder offered the money in exchange for Kracht using her position as ministerial adviser to secure favorable decisions for the Porto Franco real estate development in connection with KredEx crisis support measures
Kracht was also accused of soliciting and accepting bribes from businessman Toomas Tamm
Kracht and Põld were charged with entering into a money laundering agreement
while Põld was additionally accused of aiding in large-scale bribery
Kracht also faced a separate charge of large-scale procedural misconduct
while serving as an adviser to Minister Helme
she took part in decisions that benefited the law firm TGS Baltic
ruling that Kracht had a connection to the firm and should have recused herself from the decision to commission legal analyses from TGS Baltic
the court found no evidence of illegal agreements between Kracht and either Tamm or Teder
It also found no proof that Tamm or Teder offered bribes or that Kracht accepted them
Põld's alleged role in facilitating bribery was also deemed unproven
Kracht was ordered to pay €1,329 in procedural costs
the state is required to reimburse procedural costs in the event of an acquittal
the court ruled that legal fees must be reimbursed in the following amounts: €138,497 to Kracht
The verdict has not yet entered into force
The decision may be appealed to the Tallinn Circuit Court within 30 days.&nbsp;
The second-tier Tallinn Circuit Court overturned the previous acquittal by Harju County Court in the Porto Franco case and issued a new verdict
Tallinn Circuit Court sentenced Teder to one year and five months in prison
The circuit court sentenced Korb to one year and two months in prison
2019&nbsp;– bringing the Center Party's aggregate punishment to a total of €1 million
Tallinn Circuit Court found that the existence of an influence peddling agreement dating back to February 9
Investigative weekly <a href="https://ekspress.delfi.ee/artikkel/120278615/prokuratuuri-suur-voit-porto-franco-protsess-toi-ringkonnakohtus-koigi-kohtualuste-suudi-moistmise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eesti Ekspress noted</a> (link in Estonian) that Monday's ruling by Tallinn Circuit Court was a pivotal one
as Harju County Court had fully acquitted all of the defendants in the case last fall as Judge Aime Ivanson
the circuit court judges determined that the statements Korb had provided the&nbsp;Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) as a suspect were admissible evidence
The first-tier county court had dismissed Korb's statements as inadmissible on the grounds of his defense lawyer not having been present at the beginning of the interrogation
Korb explained in county court that he hadn't understood at the ISS what was happening with him
"It is arbitrary to claim that someone with a higher education doesn't understand that they are providing explanations
regarding allegations," Eesti Ekspress reported the circuit court's ruling as stating
Left unchanged by the second-tier court was the county court's previous ruling in the part where €120,000
which was voluntarily deposited in the Prosecutor's Office guarantee account by the Center Party
as the prosecution had not requested the confiscation of this €120,000 donation to the Center Party in its appeal
and the circuit court did not have the authority to confiscate anything beyond the limits of the appeal if not requested
Korb and the Center Party were each fined compensation levies of €1,230
The circuit court's ruling can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Estonia within 30 days
Tuesday's dramatic events have certainly brought uncertainty to the Porto Franco development with it becoming a centerpiece of a government corruption scandal
While it is likely that it will not be finished in the projected time
the favorable location will still make it a desirable real estate object
Construction on Porto Franco was still ongoing on Wednesday but head of the development Rauno Teder, son of businessman Hillar Teder who is in the middle of <a href="https://news.err.ee/1608070927/center-secretary-general-four-others-suspects-in-porto-franco-iss-probe">the donation and corruption scandal</a>
ETV's daily affairs show "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported on Wednesday
the Harju County Court approved the prosecution to arrest Hillar Teder for two months
As journalists began investigating the financing of Porto Franco on Wednesday
it became clear that a €102 million European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) syndicate loan had not been paid out yet
EBRD spokesperson Axel Reisner said: "The situation is that we have signed a loan contract but did not pay the money out
The contract is expired now and the EBRD is not involved
The contract expired in October last year. Porto Franco has not announced an financier yet, there are also no mortgages on the real estate. In addition, the development company owes €36 million (10 percent interest) to the companies of Russian fish tycoon Dmitry Ozersky. The <a href="https://news.err.ee/1130503/government-green-lights-39-million-porto-franco-loan">€40 million KredEx loan</a> (2 percent interest) to Porto Franco has been paid out in half
Former state credit agency KredEx head Lehar Kütt said the project should not have been financed
"KredEx' proposal to the government was made in accordance with procedure and not by KredEx management
The board and financing committee of KredEx would not have supported financing the project on these conditions
/.../ How the real estate developments [received financing] was a strong directive by the ministries
KredEx management was opposed to it," Kütt said
KredEx was begun to look for ways how to suspend the contract with Porto Franco and how to not pay out the remaining €20 million
in addition to retrieving the €20 million it has already paid out to the development
The credit agency is hoping to reach a solution in the near future
Tallinn city government could also begin fining Porto Franco
All sanctions will be in accordance to the contract and as far as I can remember
there are rather serious fines specified," Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart (Center) said
The Estonian Association of Real Estate Companies (EKFL) thinks insolvency will not stop the project's development
"The cleansing fire of bankruptcy has gone through many things in history
the price has not reached the point of stopping it," said EKFL chairman Tõnis Rüütel
a Porto Franco bankruptcy could leave the portside real estate development to be suspended for some time
An Internal Security Service (ISS) investigation into the financing of Porto Franco led to them discovering that Center's secretary-general Mihhail Korb
along with businessman Hillar Teder and Kersti Kracht
adviser to Martin Helme at the finance ministry
the Center Party itself and two other unnamed individuals
were involved in corruption with regard to a €39-million loan from state credit agency KredEx toward the real estate development in Tallinn
Hillar Teder is a frequent donor to Center
providing the party with €60,000 in the fourth quarter of 2020
and his son Rauno Teder is the majority shareholder in Porto Franco
Hillar Teder allegedly struck a deal with Mihhail Korb
to provide €1 million in donations to Center in return for easing the process of getting the contract for access routes to Porto Franco
This also involves the Center Party-controlled City Government
Kersti Kracht is suspected of influence peddling and has been temporarily suspended as finance ministry adviser by Martin Helme
<a href="https://news.err.ee/1120595/real-estate-developers-say-government-porto-franco-loan-illegal-state-aid">Critics</a> at the time questioned why a loan was being granted to an unfinished project as state aid was issued to companies demonstrably hit by the coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions
such as the €100-millon granted to ferry line Tallink or the €47 million issued to fuel retailer Alexela
The investigation led to Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center) resigning and the formation of a new government
The Office of the Prosecutor General on Friday charged former adviser to the finance minister Kersti Kracht
entrepreneur Hillar Teder and two other persons (73-year-old Toomas and 54-year-old Jüri) with numerous corruption offenses and sent the case to court
The prosecution accuses Kracht of three separate corruption offenses
She is charged with requesting and accepting a bribe on a large scale from Toomas who has been charged with offering a bribe on a large scale
Kracht also stands accused of requesting a large-scale bribe from Hillar Teder
charged with promising a large-scale bribe
Kracht and Jüri are charged with agreeing to launder money in connection with said offenses
with the latter also charged with aiding in large-scale bribery
Kracht is also accused of violating procedural restrictions on a massive scale
while working as adviser to the finance minister
was involved in making decisions that benefited a company while owing the said company money
Jüri has also been charged with illegal handling of a firearm
Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pärn said that the accused have been charged with a plethora of offenses
Most concern influencing decisions tied to coronavirus crisis support measures in exchange for bribes
Several anti-corruption organizations had highlighted risks associated with the benefits in question
The charges suggest entrepreneurs promised and offered bribes in business interests
including promoting said interests through various support schemes in the conditions of the crisis
The motives of the former adviser to the finance minister in requesting and accepting bribes were also rooted in financial difficulties
The part that concerns a Tallinn easement to benefit OÜ Porto Franco has been separated from the case sent to court on Friday
Suspicions have been brought against the Center Party
its former secretary general Mihhail Korb and Hillar Teder in that case
Pre-trial proceedings were handled by the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) on behalf of the prosecution
ERR approached Kersti Kracht for comment but could not reach her over the phone
Hillar Teder said that he will not plead guilty
Businessman Hillar Teder and former finance ministry adviser Kersti Kracht have been placed under arrest in connection with the alleged corruption activities centered on a central Tallinn real estate development which led to the resignation of Jüri Rats (Center) as prime minister
Both have been arrested for an initial period of up to two months
as granted by Harju County Court in response to a prosecutor's office request
The pair were declared suspects in an Internal Security Services (ISS) investigation into activities at state credit agency KredEx and a €39-million loan the organization granted to the developers of Porto Franco last September
resigned from his post Tuesday as the investigation became public; there are two other suspects in the case at present
both unnamed individuals who are reportedly not public figures
The Center Party is itself also a suspect in the investigation
Korb and Teder are under suspicion of striking a deal where the latter
would donate around €1 million in return for access route rights to the development
Kracht is suspected of influence peddling in accepting funds in principle from Teder in order to secure a favorable decision for Porto Franco
In practice the ISS intercepted the events before any money changed hands
Teder and Kracht are also suspected of engaging in money laundering in order to conceal the attempted bribe
told BNS Thursday that their clients would be appealing the Harju court ruling at the second-tier Tallinn Circuit Court
Revelations about the activities prompted Jüri Ratas' swift resignation early on Wednesday
The Center Party has long been linked in the Estonian media with large-scale corruption activities
particularly during the leadership of co-founder and former Tallinn mayor Edgar Savisaar
The party currently has a suspended sentence to its name
after being found guilty of accepting an illicit donation
Whether the loan granted to a Tallinn real estate development by state credit agency KredEx will be withdrawn will take longer to decide than previously thought
partly since a Russian-owned firm has a greater claim on collateral via the development's mortgage
Revelations about alleged influence peddling and bribery connected with the loan and involving the Center Party prompted the resignation of Jüri Ratas as prime minister earlier this week
KredEx spokesperson Joonas Kerge told ERR's online Estonian news Friday that: "We have since Tuesday been analyzing the rights and obligations of the parties related to the loan agreement with Porto Franco OÜ
We will find out the circumstances related to the financing in the future
and we will communicate with other creditors to find out their position and possible activities."
Russian fishing magnate is one of Porto Franco's creditors
These other creditors include a firm owned by Russian fishing magnate Dmitry Ozersky
Porto Franco borrowed over €36 million from the company
MMG's mortgage security held on the Porto Franco loan is higher than KredEx's
Kredex has to conduct more analysis before deciding on its next step
Kerge added.&nbsp;"The financing of such major projects and the related legislation are always very nuanced
is to fulfill its duty of care and make sure that all is correct and takes into account the rights and obligations of all parties."
At the time the €39-million KredEx loan was granted
critics said KredEx's money was supposed to go to functioning firms which were generating money and which could demonstrably prove they had been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic
particularly with regard to lost tourism revenues
An application for a loan of almost the same amount
for the redevelopment of the historic Patarei former prison
the state may be able to recover at least part of its borrowed funds
Porto Franco majority shareholder avoiding media
has been incommunicado since an internal security service investigation into the KredEx loan was made public on Tuesday
Five people were named suspects in the investigation
who has since been placed under arrest following a county court order
10 percent shareholder in Porto Franco and a board member
said that if emotion is taken out of the equation
as confirmed by those banks which agreed to finance it
A joint €102-million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Luminor bank expired in October as a result of non-compliance
meaning that KredEx may not now pay out all or any of the outstanding loan amount
KredEx: Our loan was an interim one while Teder trial wrapped up
Lump said that had this €102-million loan materialized
there would have been no need for the KredEx loan
which was in effect an interim loan (its proponents have said success with the EBRD loan was predicated on getting the KredEx funds – ed.)
Lump could not say how much is actually needed to complete the project
Part of the problem was that Hillar Teder was a defendant in an earlier case
part of the long-running Edgar Savisaar/Center Party corruption trial
though this did not mean their loan would not ever be forthcoming
might be to sell the part-completed project
which has seen interest from potential investors
along with that of former finance ministry adviser Kersti Kracht
suspected of influence peddling in smoothing the way for the loan
will appeal the county court decision at the second-tier circuit court
Center Party secretary-general Mihhail Korb also resigned
once the ISS investigation became public last Tuesday
The other two suspects are unnamed and reportedly not public figures
A controversial real estate development in central Tallinn is on-track for completion in 2023
Located close to Tallinn's ferry harbor and intended for office
the Porto Franco development hit the headlines in January after it was at the heart of corruption allegations which prompted the resignation of Jüri Ratas (Center) as prime minister
with it bringing down the Center/EKRE/Isamaa coalition
Many Porto Franco tenants will move in as early as the first quarter of next year
the building at the other end of the site will be completed
as well as active facade works," Teder told ERR
adding that this building should be completed next year
while the largest building will be finished in 2023
Teder added there was no fear of a lack of tenants
despite the bad press over the government collapse in January – an episode which had brought with it complications
Financing solutions have been obtained which will allow the work to be finished
though declined to answer whether one of the prospective tenants is supermarket Prisma
Some alterations to the concept might be needed
with services potentially taking the place of merchandisers: "But it will not be a case where we construct apartments on retail space," he said
The development had already been the subject of scrutiny last year
when it was the beneficiary of a €39.4 million loan from state credit agency KredEx
despite not apparently generating revenue – as an unfinished project – and therefore not obviously adversely hit by the pandemic
the KredEx loans' raison d'etre in the first place
and money laundering activities aimed at concealing the activity engulfed the Center Party – which has an absolute majority on Tallinn city government – including its secretary general
after an Internal Security Service (ISS) investigation into the matter was made public
Jüri Ratas resigned within hours of the reports
Despite Friday's Supreme Court ruling that found the Center Party guilty of trading in influence
the party will continue its activities and go into the local elections with the aim of winning
The circuit court previously sentenced Hillar Teder to one year and five months and Mihhail Korb to one year and two months suspended imprisonment
Speaking at a press conference later on Friday
along with party vice-chair Lauri Laats and secretary general Anneli Otti
said the party had been prepared for the Supreme Court's decision and has a financial plan and a plan of action in place for its future activities
we had hoped that there would be a different decision
I am not going to give a legal assessment of the Supreme Court's decision
I can say that the decision was unfair for us," Kõlvart said
the judgement has to be respected," Kõlvart added
the Center Party spent a lot of time preparing for Friday's ruling
"Now we have a financial plan and a plan of action
We know how we will get out of this situation and we know how we will win the elections," Kõlvart said
Politically we are as active or more active [than before]," he added
we are asking to be given a payment schedule longer than a month
We hope that this will be granted and that it will be sufficient," Kõlvart said
adding that he did not see any threat of bankruptcy for the party
Asked whether the decision could also have the effect of discouraging further political cooperation with Kõlvart as an individual
and therefore mean the Center Party could be excluded from power as a result
he responded that the question was rather if the Center Party would include anyone in their next coalition
"If we are discussing today that the verdict is a legal verdict and the final one
then we also have to proceed from the theory of legality
which states that there are people who were convicted and a legal person who was convicted
a significant amount of donations had been received into the party's account
He noted that members of the party's executive board are prepared to take responsibility for their own assets if necessary
we are not going to sell our own assets and hopefully there will be no need to do that
we are ready for it and we will not run away
The members of the executive board also donated to the party quite substantially today," said Kõlvart
Kõlvart stressed that the members of the party's executive board at the time when the party was led by Jüri Ratas
should also be responsible for their own assets
they have the same responsibility as we do," he said
the party is analyzing whether and how to file a financial claim against Ratas
is still a member of the party and there are no plans to expel him
For the party to say to one of its members that you are now more to blame
I will not make a suggestion of that kind," said Kõlvart
Kõlvart said that the Center Party definitely does not want to deal with Hillar Teder anymore
"How is it possible that the former leadership of the party decided anything could be negotiated with Teder
We will certainly not try that again," Kõlvart said
"The Center Party of today is not the Center Party of a year ago
or money that you can arrange for yourself from the coffers of the people of the city
then your place is not in politics," Kõlvart said
A loan agreement between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Estonian bank Luminor was signed on Friday totalling €102 million
aimed at the proposed Porto Franco large-scale development in Tallinn's city harbor district
a Porto Franco press release said.&nbsp;The loans provide over half the projected cost of the project
Minister of Foreign Trade and Information Technology
Kaimar Karu noted of the deal that: "Developments that help shape modern environments
which facilitate entrepreneurship and tourism are certainly worthy or acknowledgment and praise."&nbsp;
"The volume of the investment from EBRD and Luminor is also significant
but will also contribute to the competitiveness of the Estonian economy and support environment-friendly and sustainable development of the country," Karu continued
according to a Porto Franco press release.&nbsp;
Porto Franco board chair Rauno Teder added that: "Signing a funding contract is an extremely significant milestone for any property development project."
Teder noted that this was the first property development loan in both Estonia and the Baltic States as a whole
The Porto&nbsp;Franco project is to be built in an environment-friendly manner
and will comply with high environmental protection and energy consumption requirements
The project involves using various state-of-the-art technologies to ensure efficient use of energy and water and the reduction of waste generation and pollution
including climate change-resistant technologies which will alleviate the climate risks endangering the region
EBRD Head of Property and Tourism Vlaho Kojakovic said that: "Connecting the historical center of Tallinn with Old City Harbor
Porto Franco will&nbsp;play a pivotal role in the regeneration of the wider port district
ast becoming the main gateway to the city."
The EBRD's head of the Baltics Ian Brown noted that the development was: "...just one step in support of the strategic regeneration of this historic and innovative city," adding that it was an example of the organization's focus on green economic development in Estonia
Architecture firm Chapman Taylor of London
and local architects Ott Kadarik and Mihkel Tüür provided architectural services
with the main designer being Estkonsult OÜ
The building was designed and is to be constructed based on the LEED Gold standards
The Porto Franco development is to receive €190 million in investments
and will cover an area over 150,000 square meters (see gallery)
It will have a three-level underground parking facility with 1,170 parking spaces and five levels above the ground to host a shopping centre
which promotes the development of the private sector and entrepreneurial initiative in 38 economies across three continents
It is co-owned by just under 70 countries as well as the EU and the European Investment Bank (EIB)
To date the EBRD has invested over €700 million into 90 different projects in Estonia
Luminor is the third-largest provider of financial services in the Baltics
with a reported approximately 1 million clients
and market share of 16.6 percent in deposits and 18.7 percent in lending as at the end of the Q4 2019
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the government approved a working capital loan of €39.4 million to the development of Porto Franco
The total amount borrowed is €39.4 million and is set for the next six years with an interest of 12-month Euribor plus 2 percent per annum
the contract fee is 0.2 percent of the loan limit amount
The loan limit can be used in installments - the minimum size of each installment is at least €5 million and the maximum size €15 million
The loan is secured by assets located in Tallinn at Laeva T6
Porto Franco signed a €102 million loan agreement with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Luminor&nbsp;Bank a few weeks before the government imposed the&nbsp;emergency situation&nbsp;in the state due to the spread of COVID-19.&nbsp;
The EBRD's share in the loan is €63 million and Luminor's share is €39 million.&nbsp;
Porto Franco announced in early July the EBRD had made additional demands to mitigate the risks of the economic downfall.&nbsp;
The EBRD wants Porto Franco's shareholders to contribute more money than previously agreed in the early stages of construction&nbsp;work
they want to set up&nbsp;a guarantee account with €10 million to service bank payments in 2022.&nbsp;
The Porto Franco development has an area of over 150,000 square meters in the business district by the Port of Tallinn.&nbsp;The total cost of the development was estimated at €190 million&nbsp;at the end of February.&nbsp;
The Office of the Prosecutor General has decided to seek the arrest of businessman Hillar Teder and adviser to the finance minister Kersti Kracht in the Porto Franco corruption case
The Office of the Prosecutor General detained four people in connection with the Porto Franco criminal investigation on Tuesday
The prosecution told ERR it is moving for the arrest of the Teder and Kracht
Tuesday also saw suspicions brought against [now resigned] Center Party Secretary General Mihhail Korb
the Center Party and two individuals whose identity remains unknown
A businessman currently detained under corruption suspicions enveloping a Tallinn real estate development was able to negotiate a far better land deal with the capital's government than the asking price had been
A security service investigation into the project led to the resignation of Jüri Ratas (Center) as prime minister last week
Hillar Teder, a major Center Party donor, was able to reduce the price of the plot of land in Tallinn's harbor district by €660,000, from one million, over the course of two meetings, investigative weekly Eesti Päevaleht <a href="https://epl.delfi.ee/artikkel/92305861/kingitus-koige-norgemale-hillar-teder-sai-tallinnalt-meeletu-allahindluse">reports</a> (link in Estonian)
Tallinn's Center Party-led city government had previously denied any wrong-doing in the case
head of Tallinn City Government treasury's legal department
told Eesti Ekspress that the original asking price had been provisional and not finalized
Porto Franco is majority-owned by Rauno Teder
The two Teders were involved in a heated negotiation which saw the price reduced to €777,000 with no extension of payment schedule; this price was subsequently reduced to the "winning" deal in March 2020
The deal also involved the cancellation of a penalty in excess of €190,000
issued by the city due to delays in construction (Porto Franco is still under construction – ed.)
Smaller payment installments were also set up
Hillar Teder is one of five suspects following the investigation which became public on Tuesday
into activities at state loan agency KredEx
which issued a €39-million loan to Porto Franco at a time when aid was mainly required for existing businesses struggling under the coronavirus crisis
While the Center Party is in office alone at city government level
the latter denied any wrongdoing in the case
resigning the same day the investigation became public
Korb had allegedly struck a €1-million deal with Hillar Teder in return for favorable treatment from city authorities in obtaining the land needed for access roads to the Porto Franco site
Jüri Ratas resigned in the small hours of Wednesday
Estonian real estate businessman Urmas Sõõrumaa has promised to continue development activities on the plots he owns in Central Tallinn and confirmed that he is not interested in getting involved in the construction of the capital city's waterfront Porto Franco development or the renovation of Linnahall
He expressed hope that the latter won't be renovated
"I hope it doesn't actually happen — you can organize as many of all kinds of procurements as you want," Sõõrumaa said in response to the suggestion that the City of Tallinn should announce a new procurement for the overhaul of Linnahall
a concrete Soviet-era Brutalist complex likewise located on the waterfront
in exchange for municipally-owned properties adjacent to it
"I hope it gets torn down and that one can walk
along a path from Mere puiestee to the sea without having to cross five intersections and still ending up God knows where," he continued
where you can get beaten up today as well as beaten up behind the future renovated Linnahall
He believes that Linnahall should be replaced with something airy
"Look outside right now — do you want to just sit out on the street?" he asked
"Look at the seafront developments in Scandinavia — in Oslo
with large glass surfaces and interesting promenades
The Estonian real estate mogul also criticized the timing of the new competition
should it be announced — ahead of the 2023 Riigikogu elections next March and in the middle of crisis times
"I've seen plenty of these competitions," he said
but I hope that several hundreds of millions of the people's money going into this pile of concrete that is located all wrong
that closes off our only potential direct promenade from Mere puiestee to the sea [never happens]
We're talking about opening up the sea to Tallinn
but then we could forget it for the next five generations."
Asked if he would participate in the waterfront Porto Franco real estate project being developed by Hillar and Rauno Teder along Admiralty Basin
Sõõrumaa said that he hasn't received an invitation to
"I have enough to do around that area myself
and I don't really want much more than that," he said
and brought up the 50,000 square meter property at Ahtri 3 adjacent to Hotel Europa as well as the entire Rotermann Quarter being built by his company
He said he wasn't aware of the details of the problems the Porto Franco project is facing
but said he hopes that they manage to get the loans they need
"as every functional thing supports others adjacent to it as well — including my properties and Rotermann Quarter as a whole."
Sõõrumaa noted that he is continuing construction on the Golden Gate building on Ahtri tänav as well
Asked about his recent acquisition of Foorum
a nearby shopping center located at the intersection of Narva maantee and Hobujaama tänav
the real estate developer explained that he intends to make spending time in that building "more beautiful and enjoyable."
"We're also aware of the City of Tallinn's plans
according to which construction of the [Old City Harbor] tramway will begin next spring
they'll be talking about [building] a pedestrian street," Sõõrumaa said
"In real estate you have to look at things 10-20 years ahead," he explained
that will in any case be the sweetest spot in Tallinn of all
It's a very sweet location — beautiful view
where the sun is shining most of the time and you see all beautiful things from the windows."
The Porto Franco criminal case was an artificially engineered scandal used to execute a coup
Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) chair Martin Helme said Wednesday
commenting on Harju County Court's acquittal of all three defendants in the case
"Will [former Center chair] Jüri Ratas now become prime minister again and the Center-EKRE-Isamaa government return to office?" Helme wrote in a statement
"Will the intervening three years of Kaja Kallas' horrorshow and the decisions made during that time become null and void or be canceled out
the court ruled that no laws have been broken in Porto Franco
there was no reason for the government to fall (or rather be taken down)
"It was obvious to all of us from the start that the Porto Franco 'criminal case' was a scandal engineered by the [Estonian Internal Security Service
ISS] and the Prosecutor's Office that was used to execute a coup d'etat in order to place the Reform Party in the government," he claimed
Helme asked whether anyone is going to be held accountable for this
"Are the people who came to power thanks to this now going to resign?" he asked
"Are the massive sums spent on 'administering justice,' for which taxpayers have to foot the bill
going to be reimbursed by Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pern or Prosecutor General Andres Parmas?"
the "liberal regime" is entrenching itself
"More and more new criminal cases are being launched against political opponents
increasingly stringent mind control and censorship is being imposed with the help of the hate speech law
e-voting [online] is being expanded into m-voting [via smart devices]
the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules are being abolished so that the opposition can't get a say," Helme asserted
"Citizens suffering from poverty and humiliation can always be comforted by saying that no matter how bad things get
All three defendants in the Porto Franco case — the Center Party
former Center Party secretary general Mihhail Korb and businessman Hillar Teder — were on Wednesday acquitted of charges of influence peddling by Judge Aime Ivanson in the first-tier Harju County Court
led to the breakup of Jüri Ratas' second government
a coalition government consisting of Center
The explainer below has been compiled by the Estonian public broadcaster ERR News. The full article can be found <a href="https://news.err.ee/1608072376/q-a-estonia-s-government-has-resigned-what-happens-next" rel="noopener" target="_blank">here</a>
Prime Minister Jüri Ratas announced he would resign from the post of prime minister of Estonia after corruption allegations related to a €39-million loan to the Porto Franco real estate development in Tallinn were made public the day before
if a prime minister either dies or resigns this triggers the resignation of the whole government
the far-right Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa coalition government has resigned and a new coalition must be formed
Read more: <a href="https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1063301/estonia-adrift-how-a-digital-pioneer-became-a-source-of-political-anxiety-opinion">Estonia adrift: how a digital pioneer became a source of political anxiety – opinion</a>
Ratas will act as a caretaker until the new government has been formed
the government can continue its activities
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said she would give the Chairman of the Reform Party Kaja Kallas permission to form a government
The Reform Party won the most seats – 34 – at the last election and must now negotiate with other parties to reach the 51-seat mark
giving the government a majority in the Riigikogu
Kallas will meet with Kaljulaid on Thursday and she will then have two weeks to form and present a government
another party will be asked to form a government
Read more: <a href="https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1312036/far-right-estonian-politicians-question-lithuania-s-deep-state-elections">Far-right Estonian politicians question Lithuania’s ‘deep state’ elections</a>
Will the far-right EKRE be part of the new coalition
this seems unlikely – but it has not been completely ruled out
EKRE would need to form a government with Center or Reform to reach a majority but neither seemed keen on Wednesday
Reform and EKRE do not see eye-to-eye on values
so even though the two parties have enough seats to make a two-party coalition it is thought to be unlikely this will happen
so those two parties will not be in a coalition together
The Porto Franco real estate development was given €39.4 million in state aid through KredEx loan last year to help counter the effects of the economic effects of the coronavirus
Critics at the time questioned why a loan was being granted to an unfinished project as state aid was issued to companies demonstrably hit by the coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions
an Internal Security Service (ISS) investigation into KredEx was made public
The Center Party itself and five people have been declared suspects
including Center Party Secretary-General Mihhail Korb
adviser to finance minister Martin Helme (EKRE)
to provide €1 million in donations to the Center party in return for easing the process of getting the contract for access routes to Porto Franco
Kersti Kracht is suspected of influence peddling and has been temporarily suspended as finance ministry adviser by Martin Helme.The other two suspects have not been named and are reportedly not public figures
Ratas denied a €60,000 donation made by Teder to the Center Party is linked to the support loan granted to the Porto Franco development led by Teder's son
Mihhail Korb said the donation had been made due to satisfaction with the Center Party's policies
Teder said he agreed with the party's "bold decisions" and has donated over €1 million to parties since 2013
who is suspected of corruption criminal offenses related to real estate development Porto Franco
was released from custody and left Tallinn prison on Thursday where he has been since mid-January
Teder will remain under electronic surveillance
Teder said after being released from custody that he didn't bribe anybody
"Me and Kersti Kracht are two retired entrepreuners
nothing ties us other than the fact that we are in the same community
We go on walks together discuss everything," Teder said
He said he had never tried to solve Kracht's financial issues and had not reached agreements with either Kracht or Mikhail Korb
"The life of an entrepreneur is definitely much more difficult
Although I haven't been in business for three and a half years now
this pace of life didn't change here," Teder said about his time in prison
former Minister of Finance's advisor Kersti Kracht and the Center Party's chief-secretary Mihhail Korb were all arrested on suspicion of a possible corruption case regarding Tallinn's real estate project Porto Franco
Korb and the Center Party are suspected of influence peddling
donated €1 million to the Center Party before the local government elections
organized the right to build a car park on land owned by Tallinn
Teder is suspected of agreeing to bribe Kracht by using her position as the finance minister's adviser to secure favorable decisions for Porto Franco in the use of Kredex's crisis relief measures
Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pern on Friday challenged the release from custody of former adviser to the finance minister Kersti Kracht who stands suspected of corruption offenses
Pern did not agree with Tallinn Circuit Court's decision to release Kracht from custody on February 16 and has challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court
The latter must now decide whether to process the challenge
The circuit court also ruled to release under electronic surveillance businessman Hillar Teder
while he will be released once the ruling enters into force provided the Office of the Prosecutor General will not challenge it
Internal Security Service (ISS) operatives detained Hillar Teder and then adviser to the finance minister Kersti Kracht on January 12 following suspicions of corruption offenses
Suspicions were also brought against Center Party Secretary General Mihhail Korb and the coalition party
Teder and Korb are suspected of influence peddling
it was agreed that Teder would donate a total of up to €1 million to the Center Party before local government council elections this fall
Korb was to make sure Teder's Porto Franco real estate development is allowed to construct a parking lot access road on city land
The Center Party also stands suspected of influence peddling
Teder is also believed to have agreed to bribe Kracht in exchange for the latter making sure KredEx crisis support measures favor Porto Franco
The bribe did not exchange hands as Teder and Kracht were detained first
Teder and Kracht are also suspected of agreeing to launder money to hide the bribe
Another two entrepreneurs stand suspected of related offenses
Harju County Court issued an arrest warrant for Teder and Kracht for a period of two months on January 14
while Teder is still in custody at this time
The opening of Porto Franco at the Port of Tallinn has been postponed until the end of the first quarter of 2021
told ERR the first phase of the development should be completed by the end of March and the Citybox hotel will begin operations in April
The rest of the development is in the second phase
Concrete construction is currently underway and the buildings are slowly reaching their maximum height
Now life is more fun - all the investments that are made are going into building a house
not just digging a hole anymore," Teder said
Although last spring he hoped the whole center would be completed in September 2020
Teder said the opening will take place at the end of the first quarter of next year
when commercial and office space will be completed.&nbsp;Justifying the delay
he said with big developments there were always unwanted concerns that had to be overcome
around 60 percent of the area has agreements for the space and 25 percent have been the subject of preliminary agreements.&nbsp;What tenants will come to the center apart from Prisma and Peek &amp; Cloppenburg department store in Porto Franco
"There is a separate plan to announce them
but it all has to go according to plan," he added
Teder said the total cost of the development
The Tallinn Circuit Court on Tuesday released Kersti Kracht
Both are suspected of corruption crimes linked to the Porto Franco real estate development in Tallinn
The circuit court granted the appeal by Kracht's attorneys Oliver Naas and Sander Potisepp against the court ruling ordering Kracht's into custody
It also agreed to release Teder from custody and place him under electronic surveillance
the Harju County Court granted the application by the Office of the Prosecutor General to take Teder and Kracht into custody for up to two months
The allegations also involve the Center Party and the party's secretary general Mihhail Korb
Teder and Korb are both suspected of influence peddling
The allegations state Teder and Korb colluded that Teder would donate up to €1 million to the Center Party before the local government elections and in return
the Porto Franco development would be permitted to build an exit route on a property of the City of Tallinn
The Center Party is being suspected of influence peddling as a legal person
Teder and Kracht agreed that the latter as adviser to the minister of finance would contribute towards a favorable decision for Teder in terms of a large loan sought for the Porto Franco real estate development through crisis aid measures from the state-run Kredex foundation
Teder and Kracht are also suspected of concluding a money laundering agreement to conceal the giving of a bribe to the latter.&nbsp;
The giving of a bribe did not take place as Teder and Kracht were apprehended by officials of the ISS
two entrepreneurs have been declared suspects in several criminal offenses in connection with the same case.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Jüri Ratas (Center) resigned as prime minister of Estonia in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the wake of a scandal surrounding a Tallinn property development
Ratas expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve Estonia as prime minister for four years
saying that his tenure helped improve the standard of living at home and strengthened the country's standing abroad
very difficult choices have to be made to resolve difficult situations
He said that the decision to resign was made after consultations with Center Party board members of the party which lasted for more than 14-15 hours
was made as a result of consultations with the board of the Center Party
While there was certainly a range of different solutions
only one of these seemed to be the right one," Ratas said
"The suspicions lodged by the Office of the Prosecutor General today do not yet mean that someone is definitely guilty
but they inevitably cast a serious shadow on all the parties involved
a possibility to shed light on all circumstances and achieve clarity seems the only right thing to do
Under conditions of political and societal calm
I am convinced that the investigating authorities will do their work professionally and without bias and will establish the definitive truth also in this case."
Ratas: I was unaware of KredEx Porto Franco loan details
He also said that he was not informed about the Porto Franco loan details
I can say with full peace of mind that as the prime minister
I have not made a single malevolent or knowingly wrong decision
I have communicated with both the prosecutor general and the ISS
who both affirmed that they have no suspicions with regard to myself
I did not feel in the Porto Franco case either that some minister or political party had tried to influence the decisions made by the government in an unlawful direction," he said
Ratas added that the KredEx loan had been comparable to a €100-million sum granted to ferry line Tallink in summer
Several major loans were issued to firms who had demonstrably been hit by the coronavirus pandemic and its economic effects
Since Porto Franco was an unfinished project
critics cast doubt on why it qualified for the money
I can also affirm with absolute sincerity that I have never made or approved of any action undermining justice or the sense of justice when leading the party
I also must bear responsibility for this issue to be resolved in an unambiguous
Ratas had appeared on ERR's Vikkerraadio show "Stuudios on peaminister" Tuesday afternoon as news emerged that the Internal Security Service (ISS) was investigating the offices of state credit agency KredEx over suspicions of corruption regarding a €39-million loan granted to the Porto Franco real estate development in Tallinn's harbor district
Five people are currently the subject of the ISS investigation
Center Party Secretary General Mihhail Korb
Korb stepped down as Center's Secretary General late afternoon Tuesday
Teder is under suspicion of bribe-giving and Kracht of influence peddling
Korb is suspected of a second degree crime
The names of the remaining suspects have not been disclosed&nbsp;but are reported to not be of public figures
So this is the end of the current coalition with Center
Ratas will likely continue as caretaker prime minister until a new coalition is formed and the new coalition could include the current lineup of Center
EKRE and Isamaa or additional parties.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/530102013003/consolide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Section § 92 of the Estonian constitution says</a> that "the Government of the Republic resigns upon:
1) the first meeting of the new&nbsp;Riigikogu;
2) the resignation or death of the Prime Minister;
3) the expression of no confidence in the Government of the Republic or the Prime Minister by the&nbsp;Riigikogu
The President releases the Government of the Republic from office at the time of assumption of office by the new Government."
On Wednesday morning, <a href="https://news.err.ee/1608071806/president-to-ask-reform-leader-kaja-kallas-to-form-new-coalition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Kersti Kaljulaid asked chairman of the Reform Party Kaja Kallas</a> to form a new government and she now has 14-days to do so
she will be Estonia's first female prime minister
The Reform Party has 34 seats and is by far the largest party in the Riigikogu
but it needs 51 seats out of 101 to get a majority
Cryptocurrency operating licenses in Estonia should be revoked
chief of the money laundering bureau (RAB) Matis Mäeker told investigative weekly Eesti Ekspress
Failure to do so may result in another Danske-style financial scandal
The news comes amid revelations that despite a cull of license-holders in 2020
over 400 cryptocurreny operators are still active in Estonia
the share capital of firms engaged in cryptocurrency activities would be raised to €350,000
and the operator should have this money in hand as cash or as low-risk
The current equity requirement for start-ups in the sector is €12,000
Cryptocurrency risk could be equated to the issues which ultimately led to the closure of the Tallinn branch of Danske Bank
adding that if the state does not impose controls on these risks very quickly
consequences could follow which would be undesirable for the Estonian state
Mäeker also expressed scepticism about the benefits for Estonia of the presence of many cryptocurrency operators
given their profits – sometimes astronomical sums as in the case of
cryptocurrency gambling outfits – are rarely ploughed back into Estonian infrastructure or society
He said: "Their only goal is to get an Estonian license and use it to turn over very large sums
jobs are not created primarily for Estonian citizens
nor are the services provided aimed at Estonian customers
nor is anything significant paid into the country's tax coffers
had said that cryptocurrency authorizations would be the subject of future scrutiny
while a legislative bill tightening up demands made on them would likely be drafted
Mäeker added the efforts were not a blanket attempt at persecution of those working in the cryptocurrency sector
but rather that the RAB was responding to a visible surge in virtual currency licenses which were often white-labeled in by third party companies or legal services providers and involving investors with no connection with or interest in the country
Outright criminal activity was also a concern
as was the potential financing of terrorist activity or relating to totalitarian regimes worldwide
was a major vulnerability and large sums have reportedly been misappropriated from crypto wallets in this way
Mäeker put the turnover of cryptocurrency operators at over €20 billion-per-year in cross-border payments within the banking sector
While a register of actual beneficiaries of crypto activity was introduced some years ago
Other recommendations the RAB has made include requiring companies operating in the sector have more secure IT systems and that hard cash be used in investment rather than re-financing property
has led to instances where people have lost their properties
The original Eesti Ekspress article (in Estonian) is <a href="https://ekspress.delfi.ee/artikkel/94821441/pauk-kruptoarile-rahapesu-andmeburoo-juht-soovib-tuhistada-koik-tegevusload-sest-eestit-varitseb-oht">here</a>
Over 1,000 cryptocurrency licenses already revoked
the RAB estimates there are around 400 companies in Estonia
who hold a cryptocurrency provider's license
a figure higher than the rest of the EU combined
with a population over four times that of Estonia and one of the world's key financial centers
population nearly 68 million and also a key financial center via London
well-known as a center for online gambling
both physically on-site and in the issuing of licenses to companies based elsewhere
These figures reveal the severity of the situation and the level of national control
The FIU in fact had already revoked 1,808 cryptocurrency licenses last year
the agency's risk assessment found that the changes made up to that point were not sufficient to mitigate the rapidly growing risks
told BNS that the agency had already identified cryptocurrency risk in its 2018 yearbook
finding that urgent changes need to be made in regulating the field
which in turn led to the legislation changes which passed at the Riigikogu in December 2019
Mets said that follow-up analysis found risk to have increased in 2021
and not only in theory but also in practice in
cyber attacks and the loss of cryptocurrency
The RAB has sent a favorable assessment of the draft law prepared by the Ministry of Finance to regulate the field and supports its rapid adoption
which needs to pass a Riigikogu vote before it enters into the statute books
is aimed at strengthening the FIU's powers in the authorization procedure and in the supervision of cryptocurrency services
and to set requirements for service providers in accordance with the international standard and actual risk
The RAB falls under the remit of the <a href="https://www.fiu.ee/en">Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)</a>
Mäeker was instrumental in his earlier roles with the FIU in bringing attention to money laundering activities at Danske's Tallinn branch - where an estimated €230 billion in potentially illicit funds passed through the bank's portals 2007-2015 - and at the now-defunct <a href="https://news.err.ee/692188/european-central-bank-withdraws-estonian-versobank-s-license">Versobank, liquidated in 2018.</a>
<a href="https://news.err.ee/1608098239/legislation-aimed-at-ending-cryptocurrency-party-still-on-the-table">Legislation&nbsp;planning to further tighten the licensing of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin</a> was already on the table at the finance ministry prior to the current Reform/Center coalition entering office
One online gambling firm active in Estonia and which accepts cryptocurrency, the <a href="https://news.err.ee/1608253407/uk-paper-tallinn-online-gaming-firm-one-of-several-exploiting-loopholes">Coingaming Group</a>, <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/09/14/2296672/0/en/Coingaming-Group-Rebrands-as-Yolo-Group.html">recently renamed the Yolo Group,&nbsp;</a>presumably in&nbsp;an&nbsp;effort&nbsp;to&nbsp;put a distance between the group name and cryptocurrency gambling
building and supporting Estonian cricket via its Sportsbet.io brand
The same brand is or has appeared as shirt sponsor of three English Premier League football teams
Calls for banning gambling firms' sponsorship of professional football teams in the U.K. <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-10018601/No-betting-firms-sponsor-football-shirts-governments-review-gambling-laws.html?fbclid=IwAR2FSMwp9D-tgbOxblpWz-mcb4eoecCO_7EjP2SZuntKnGjyalO-0Tk6x1M">have been ongoing for some years</a>
This article was updated to include figures on the number of cryptocurrency license-holders in Estonia
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Mihhail Korb will resign from the position of secretary general of the Center Party
deputy Center Party chairman and member of the board Jaanus Karilaid told ERR on Tuesday evening
The move comes after corruption allegations related to the Porto Franco real estate development were announced by the Internal Security Service
Karilaid said: "We have received preliminary explanations
he claimed that he did not feel that he had done something wrong." He added that it is also known the prosecutor's office has more information which will be heard in the future
"Mikhail Korb is already an experienced politician and he has already told the party's leadership that he will not continue as party secretary general for as long as the investigation lasts
All other options depend on further proceedings," Karilaid said.&nbsp;
The Center Party's board will gather tonight to discuss the situation
We are ready to fully cooperate with the investigative bodies," Karilaid said.&nbsp;
it was announced that members of the Internal Security Service (ISS) are investigating the offices of state credit agency KredEx
in connection with the Porto Franco real estate development in Tallinn which received €39 million in state aid last year.&nbsp;
The Public Prosecutor's Office said it suspects five people and the coalition Center Party of criminal involvement including Secretary General of the Center Party Mihhail Korb
adviser to the Minister of Finance Kersti Kracht and businessman Hillar Teder
The Center Party is suspected of trading in influence (also known as influence peddling)
State Prosecutor Taavi Pern said at a press conference on Tuesday.&nbsp;
Entrepreneur Hillar Teder's €60,000 donation to the ruling Center Party in the third quarter is associated with a government decision to grant a loan to Hillar Teder's son Rauno Teder's Porto Franco real estate development
Teder said he has been donating to various political parties for the past eight years and decided to sponsor Center following the government's bold decisions
Teder told ERR that donating to parties constitutes best practice for him and that the government has done well in what are difficult times
"The principle here is clear and because I operate on foreign markets
I try to support political parties that promote the Estonian agenda abroad," he said
Teder donated €50,000 to the Center Party in 2019 and has also sponsored other parties in the past
The businessman said that the prime minister
economy minister and finance minister have done good work that has benefited Estonian companies abroad
[Urmas] Reinsalu has really done a good job
We have plotted a course for embassies to support Estonian companies abroad."
"I find it very positive that embassies now have people tasked with promoting business and export," Teder said
adding that it is positive the matter is being handled by the foreign ministry and not the economy ministry
"Conservative People's Party (EKRE) ministers have done well in terms of economic development."
Teder refutes link between Porto Franco loan decision and donations
The government decided in September to grant a loan of €39.4 million to Rauno Teder's Porto Franco real estate development
Hillar Teder donated €30,000 to the prime minister's party
The entrepreneur maintains that the two are not linked
emphasizing that a loan is an obligation and needs to be returned
"I would simply say that a loan is an obligation
While it is good that entrepreneurs are supported in assuming such obligations
meaning that the state will benefit in the end," Teder said
how many companies have been granted loans
To try and claim that a donation is the only way to secure a loan is absurd," the businessman said
Center Party secretary general Mihhail Korb said on Tuesday that because donations to parties are under close scrutiny
he contacted Teder after Center received the donation and was told that the major donation was inspired by Rally Estonia
Teder confirmed that the government's decision to organize the rally despite the coronavirus crisis was one of the factors in his decision to support the party
"Rally is my youth and childhood and it is surprising they took the risk in this difficult time," he said
Teder also praised the government for not giving in to fears that the rally producing an outbreak could negatively impact their local elections vote yield next year
The people – those who like rallying – were delivered a very positive emotional charge," he added
They are doing well and have not yet developed that acute political caution."
The businessman said he plans to sponsor parties in the future
"Who else if not entrepreneurs should support politicians
While a part of their income comes from the taxpayer or the state
I realize that running an organization with 10,000 members on what the state pays parties is difficult," he said
autumn might prove more difficult for traders
CEO of the Ülemiste keskus mall Guido Pärnits said
while the Porto Franco development can benefit the capital
Pärnits told ERR on Friday that concerns over the coming fall differ from mall to mall and from one region to the next as the strong stand to become stronger and the weak weaker
"So we might say it is not really a concern for Ülemiste," Pärnits said
The CEO added that Ülemiste saw sales revenue grow 20 percent in July
He added that retail will not grow on par with July in August one of the reasons for which is salary support instruments having run their course
Talking about Ülemiste's struggling competitor the T1 Mall of Tallinn
Pärnits said that Ülemiste is not interested in acquiring it
The CEO also said he does not have any ideas for what to replace it with
"It is a rather monofunctional development for commerce and entertainment and not easily or effectively converted into something else
I tend to believe it will end in bankruptcy," Pärnits said
He said that the big wheel on the mall's roof is grand and a good look for Tallinn and it would be good if it remained in use
Pärnits has more faith in the Porto Franco port area real estate project that recently secured a crisis loan from the government
that Porto Franco is a good project in the city center port area and something the city would do well to develop as something all modern cities are trying to do," Pärnits said
Opening up the seafront is extremely important and simply leaving concrete posts there would definitely not be good
I believe that the multifunctional project could bring life to the area
including beachfront restaurants and would definitely benefit Tallinn."
Pärnits said that while he understands Tallink is more important
it does not make Porto Franco unimportant and that it should be financed
especially since the money in question is borrowed
except that it's issued in this case by the state (KredEx) and with the money coming from Europe
so certain opinion leaders in this country seem to be thinking too small," he said
The CEO remained skeptical in terms of whether Estonia could also build a fancy outlet center following Riga's example
Pärnits finds Estonia too small for something like that to work
"I'm afraid it would simply remain empty," he said
The supervisory board of state credit body KredEx named Ivo Kuldmäe as chairman of the board and will start on Monday
Kuldmäe has previous experience in the financial sector as he has worked in different leadership and advisory positions
Kuldmäe has a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Tartu and has participated in many supplemental courses and programmes in the United Kingdom
Kuldmäe said he applied for the position as KredEx has great potential and a strong market position as the state credit body
He said: "KredEx is a long-time participant of the market and is currently in a very exciting stage of development
have an opportunity to develop KredEx into a leading state body which will become an even better partner to different market participants
I am eager to join the team and meet my new colleagues."
Minister of Foreign Trade and Information Technology Raul Siem (EKRE) said Kuldmäe is a capable leader with a wealth of experience
The minister said in a statement: "I am convinced that he will be able to manage KredEx wisely in this uncertain time
developing even further satisfactory services for even more focus groups and bringing new services to the market to assist Estonian entrepreneurs and our civilians in improving their living conditions."
Chair of KredEx supervisory board Ando Leppiman noted the demand for KredEx services is in a constant upward trend
that is in livening Estonian economy and improving the living conditions of civilians
He said KredEx's role in assisting entrepreneurs in this current crisis is also important
Leppiman added: "It is important to find developmental opportunities
to widen our service base and to continue our great work in the development of the organization."
The previous chief of KredEx, Lehar Kütt, had his last official working day on October 4 after <a href="https://news.err.ee/1123275/kredex-chief-lehar-kutt-resigns">stepping down voluntarily in mid-August</a>