Prosecutors have charged Alar Naame, governor of the borough of Central Tallinn, with embezzling 2,800 euros from the borough government, the news portal of the public broadcaster ERR said.
Governor of Central Tallinn charged with embezzlement
7th January 2016, 17:41
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The 32-year-old Center Party politician is accused of illegally using the city's funds in the amount of approximately 2,800 euros, spokespeople for the Public Prosecutor's Office told ERR.
Asked by BNS, Naame admitted that charges were lodged against him and said it happened before Christmas. "I think I'm not going to comment on this, it makes no sense. Let the court and the relevant structures complete their procedures," Naame said, adding that he had no bad words for investigators.
According to the statement of charges Naame staged two concerts at the cultural center of the southern border town Valga in January and February last year that were free for the audience and were aimed at enticing voters to vote for Naame in the Riigikogu elections of 2015.
Naame ran in the general elections as candidate for the Valga, Voru and Polva counties.
He is accused of arranging for the payment of the bills related to the two events from the budget of the borough of Central Tallinn. According to the statement of charges the bills for the rent of premises, transport, catering services, music and rent of equipment were paid from the budget of Central Tallinn.
Valga residents were invited to the concert with fliers presenting Naame as candidate for parliament, which featured symbols of the Center Party and listed the candidate's pre-election promises.
The investigation was conducted by the Internal Security Service (ISS) and supervised by the Public Prosecutor's Office. The court is scheduled to hold a preliminary hearing in the case in March.