Police declare ex-justice minister Laanet suspect in fraud case

Police declare ex-justice minister Laanet suspect in fraud case. Photo: Eero Vabamägi

The Central Criminal Police have declared MP Kalle Laanet, former Estonian minister of justice and minister of defense, as suspect in a fraud investigation looking into the reimbursement of his apartment rent bills.

Aivar Sepp, the head of the corruption crimes bureau of the Central Criminal Police, said on Monday the police have taken testimony from Laanet and declared him suspect in fraud.

«The filing of a suspicion is a necessary act to guarantee the rights of the suspect in the proceedings and must not be equated with the filing of a charge. The pre-trial proceedings at the Central Criminal Police have reached the final stage and the case file will shortly be forwarded to the prosecutor's office for further proceedings,» Sepp said.

In March, the police opened misdemeanor proceedings against Laanet under the section of the Anti-Corruption Act concerning the violation of a procedural restriction.

Laanet is suspected of having the respective ministries reimburse him over 12,000 euros paid by him in rent for a Tallinn apartment belonging to his stepson while he served as the minister of defense and and later as the minister of justice.

Under law, a minister can apply for reimbursement of his or her housing costs if his or her place of residence according to the population register is outside Tallinn and the surrounding municipalities.

A regulation obliges the ministry and the Government Office to check the address data of government members who have applied for compensation for housing costs in the population register. When submitting the application, the minister must confirm that the lease agreement has not been concluded with a related person specified in the Anti-Corruption Act, which is, for example, the official's spouse, grandparent, the official's or their spouse's parent, and the official's parent's relative, including the official's child or grandchild.

Laanet resigned from the position of minister and returned to parliament after an article detailing his apartment rent reimbursements appeared in the media.

Olgerd Petersell, district prosecutor at the district prosecutor's office for economic and corruption crimes, told BNS in May that during the collection of evidence in misdemeanor proceedings, indications of a possible crime appeared.

«Since law enforcement agencies are obliged to collect evidence in the type of procedure to which the evidence refers, the Central Criminal Police, in cooperation with the prosecutor's office, on April 19 reclassified the misdemeanor procedure as a criminal procedure,» the prosecutor said.