Estonian security police suspect ex-staffer Vladimir Veitman of treason

Photo: Peeter Langovits / Postimees

Officials of Estonia's national security police on Wednesday detained Vladimir Veitman, their former staff member and a former employee of the KGB, on suspicion of treason.

Veitman allegedly worked for a special service of Russia while being a staffer of the Estonian security police.

At the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Harju regional court in Tallinn on Friday placed Veitman in custody, law officials said at a press conference at the Public Prosecutor's Office in Tallinn.

The director general of the security police, Arnold Sinisalu, said Veitman was hired by the Estonian security police in December 1991 and he worked there as a technical operations specialist until his retirement in May 2011. From 1980 to 1991 he had worked at the technical department of the operations service of the unit of the Soviet KGB in Estonia.

Born on Feb. 15, 1950, Veitman went to school in Tallinn and obtained technical higher education at the Tallinn University of Technology.

Sinisalu said Veitman never worked in senior positions with the security police nor came into contact with collecting of information. «What kind of data Veitman forwarded to the Russian special service cannot be disclosed at this point, but according to tentative information he has not forwarded state secrets of Estonia or any other country,» Sinisalu said.

The director general of the security police said it cannot be revealed at this point when the security police started to have suspicions as regards Veitman, just saying that the alleged traitor was exposed as a result of a long period of work and in-depth analysis. «It is known to us for which of the Russian special services Veitman worked, but we cannot disclose it now. We also know the names of the persons that Veitman was in contact with when forwarding information,» Sinisalu said, adding that Veitman forwarded information to Russia over a long time until his retirement in spring 2011.

Veitman has cooperated with the security police and prosecutors, admitted treason and given detailed statements. The suspect also has disclosed the location of a part of the cash he received from the Russian special service, according to Sinisalu.

The prosecutor in charge of the case, Inna Ombler, said a criminal investigation regarding Veitman was opened on Wednesday and the man was detained in Harju County the same day. A court remanded him in custody Friday morning.

«During these less than two days that the investigation of the criminal case has been going on several procedural acts, including searches, have been carried out in the course of which also cash earned as illegal income has been retrieved in a number of places,» said Ombler, describing the sums as significant.

Ombler said Veitman was cooperating with investigators and was prepared to speak about the persons that he was in contact with in the course of his unlawful activity. There are no grounds to believe that Veitman's next of kin knew about his unlawful activity and none of them is being viewed as suspect.

Sinisalu had no comment on what could have caused Veitman's engaging in unlawful activity but emphasized that the suspect received significant sums of money.

Sinisalu described the hiring of the former KGB worker by the security police in 1991 as a forced move, as the equipment of the Soviet special services in the facilities in Pagari Street, Tallinn that the Estonian authorities took over was relatively complex. «It is also known that Veitman did not continue collaboration with the successors of the KGB after assuming a job with the security police and his recruitment by the Russian special service happened much later,» he added.