Notes point at Ain Kaljurand pocketing a million

Photo: Sander Ilvest

State prosecutor's office and security police are brainstorming over options to use, in the Port of Tallinn executive management criminal case, notes at the disposals of investigators showing the criminal income of port's boss  Ain Kaljurand thrice as large as formerly thought. 

«€367,000 accepted as bribes.» Thus reads the official criminal suspicion of Mr Kaljurand. The actual amount seems to be three times that. Namely, security police has obtained notes during the investigation which are explicitly referring to how, over the period of several years, Mr Kaljurand has given money to an entrepreneur he knows, an individual now also under criminal suspicion. In total, a bit over a million euros.

The money probably being illegal is evidenced by the fact that for years Mr Kaljurand has not withdrawn a cent from his bank account. This the investigators have found out and written in the file. By the time of him being arrested, slightly over €96,000 had accumulated onto his account which has now been arrested as requested by state prosecutor’s office. Therefore, the investigators are asking what did Mr Kaljurand live by all these years – considering his affluent lifestyle – while leaving his salary in the bank like that.

From the notes pointing to €1m being moved, the investigators have come to think Mr Kaljurand accepted three times the bribes as originally and officially assumed. Then again, will the notes count in court...

As ruled by district court yesterday, Mr Kaljurand’s bank account with the €96,000 will remain under arrest. They have also arrested over €190,000 found in places related to Mr Kaljurand, as well as the €131,600 found in the home of his acquaintance and entrepreneur Kaido Tamberg which, at interrogation, the latter said belonged to Mr Kaljurand.

Under electronic surveillance at home at the moment, Ain Kaljurand has thus far refused to give testimonies. His deputy at the port Allan Kiil, formerly a Reform cadre and municipal politician, has in conversations with security police been a bit more talkative.   

Though at a lower peg at the port, Mr Kiil stands accused of manifold larger corruption than his boss. They say he built it into his pension fund.

The suspicion says Mr Kiil, responsible for the building of new ferryboats, was in for about €4m in bribes from international shipyards. Of that, a half already managed to change hands.

Therefore, an acquaintance of Mr Kiil and an entrepreneur is also under criminal suspicion in the selfsame case, allegedly assisting him in moving criminal money.