Estonian PM loaned money to husband after visiting Metaprint factory

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas visited the factory of Metaprint on Jan. 28, 2022. Photo: Vabariigi Valitsus

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas visited the factory of Metaprint on Jan. 28, 2022, and a few days later signed a loan agreement with her husband Arvo Hallik's company Novaria Consult, through which Hallik has a stake in Stark Logistics, in which Metaprint's owner, in turn, has a majority stake.

Stark Logistics has reportedly helped Metaprint, a producer of aerosol cans, with transport services to Russia after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Member of the anti-corruption select committee of the parliament Tonis Molder told Postimees that Kallas' loan agreement was signed after her visit to the Metaprint factory.

«This loan agreement was signed a few days after that,» Molder said, adding that the select committee has the loan agreement and two of its annexes but no information if and when the payments took place. Priit Sibul, a member of the same committee, also stated that the visit to the factory and the conclusion of the loan agreement were close in time.

«Kallas herself has said that she has given this loan and it was repaid in three parts. Did she do it through a bank or pay it directly? What was the sum paid out and those received? Has she earned any interest and if so, how much and has she received it?» Molder listed questions that have yet to be answered by the premier.

«There is no point in summoning Kaja Kallas to the select committee's sitting. Facts are one thing, Kallas can either refute them or prove their accuracy. Another matter entirely is ethics, and this is not something any committee can clarify; only Kallas' own conscience can do that,» Molder said.

«Kallas has given a loan to a business owning a logistics company that conducts business in Russia. It is entirely a matter of ethics, Kallas saying that business cannot be conducted in Russia while giving out a loan at the same time. What I am saying is that I'm convinced that a person who loans out 350,000 euros, knows which company this money ends up with. Kallas knew very well who she was doing business with and how,» Molder said.

Other members of the select committee have told Postimees that they still do not know anything about the movement of the money.

On Sept. 8, Postimees reported that the prime minister's office did not agree to share Kallas' loan agreement with the newspaper. Postimees was told that all public information concerning Kallas can be found on her declaration of economic interests.