Court releases former Port of Tallinn exec Allan Kiil from further trial

Allan Kiil and his defender Aivar Pilv. Photo: Mihkel Maripuu

The Tallinn-based Harju County Court on Wednesday ruled to release  Allan Kiil, former board member of Port of Tallinn on trial on corruption charges, from further trial on the grounds that the accused is irremediably ill.

The Harju County Court on Tuesday examined the report of a medical examination of Allan Kiil behind closed doors.

The application to conclude Kiil’s trial due to his irremediable illness had been filed by his lawyer Aivar Pilv.

In mid-September, the court ordered Kiil to undergo medical examination.

Based on evidence collected by the Internal Security Service over the course of an investigation that lasted for approximately three years, the Office of the Prosecutor General is accusing the ex-managers of the now-listed port company of accepting bribes on a large scale and money laundering committed from 2005 to 2015.

Judge Kristina Väliste said that the circumstances of the case’s termination cannot be disclosed as they include highly sensitive personal health data.

Allan Kiil’s assets were released and the state will also pay his legal expenses of €108,000. While the trial that has several defendants will continue, Allan Kiil cannot be treated as responsible in any episode in the future. According to the charges, Allan Kiil accepted bribes of over €3.5 million of which he received €2 million while working as a Port of Tallinn executive in 2005-2015.

Case prosecutor Denis Tšasovskih said that the prosecution sees no perspective in appealing the ruling. "An appeal would inevitably result in a break of a few months in proceedings that would not be in the interests of the processing of the criminal matter," he explained.

A third person, former head of Port of Tallinn service department Martin Paide, is also accused of bribe-taking and seven more physical and two legal persons of giving a bribe and complicity in bribe-giving.

Charges have also been filed against Eno Saar, Tõnis Pohla, Üllar Raad, Sven Honga, Toivo Promm, and Jan Paszkowski, as well as the companies HTG Invest AS and Keskkonnahoolduse OÜ.