€28,000 of debt outstanding by Edgar Savisaar to Alexander Kofkin

Photo: Viktor Burkivski

Not long ago, Centre Party chairman and Mayor of Tallinn owed private persons over €200,000. By today, his debt burden has shrunk to €28,000 as stated in declared economic interests.

Quite recently – in 2011 – Mr Savisaar owed two private persons €205,506.6. In 2012, the sum total was €207,398.6. In last year’s declaration, just one loan of €31,955.8 remained. The larger claim, sized €173,550.8, had been waived by the creditor.

As explained last summer by Mr Savisaar’s representative, Lextal lawyer Oliver Nääs, the cancelled debt had been assumed by Mr Savisaar in order to settle proprietary obligations resulting from marital property contract, from a company called Pipa Business Corporation owned by a Liechtenstein businessman and lawyer Peter Kaiser. According to Mr Savisaar, he paid the debt out of his honorarium for writing books.

The smaller loan was assumed by Mr Savisaar from businessman Alexander Kofkin who has confirmed having loaned Mr Savisaar money and also supported a foreign legal person, linked to both and some other people, dealing with printing and publishing. Of that loan, according to the fresh declaration, Mr Savisaar has during the past year paid up over €4,000. The document says he has €27,957 left to pay to the businessman.

Mr Savisaar’s messy financial affairs have landed him a criminal procedure initiated by Prosecutor’s Office in February 2011 regarding money laundering. A few days after that, Estonian prosecutors issued letters rogatory to Swiss law enforcement.

As assured to Postimees by North District Prosecutor’s Office press representative, proceedings of the criminal case are underway.