TALLINN - A former high ranking official in the Tallinn municipal government, Elmar Sepp, has been detained by the Estonian Security Police over his alleged involvement in one of the largest corruption cases the city has seen.
On Feb. 26 Sepp, a member of the Center Party, was detained in connection with the investigation of Ivo Parbus, adviser to the Tallinn municipality, who is accused of accepting bribes.
"The North District Prosecutor's Office and the Security Police Board are conducting proceedings in a criminal case in the framework of which Tallinn City Council member Elmar Sepp was detained on Thursday [Feb. 26] as a suspect in a criminal offense," said Gerrit Maesalu, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.
"According to the suspicion, Elmar Sepp, the sole member of the board of Juri Vilmsi Sihtkapital Foundation Ltd, repeatedly incited Parbus to take bribes for the benefit of Juri Vilmsi Sihtkapital. According to the suspicion, the taking of bribes took place in the Tallinn City Planning Department for the organization of and speeding up business in connection with site plans," said Maesalu.
Ivo Parbus stands accused of repeatedly accepting bribes for organizing smooth processing of site plans. He allegedly worked with some of the people now under scrutiny, who acted as go-betweens in the process.
The investigation has found that the sums of the bribes were higher than 6,400 euro.
The Juri Vilms Sihtkapital Foundation publishes the Russian-language daily newspaper Vesti Dnya. The search of the company premises was performed on the same day of Sepp's detention.
The newspapers' chief editor, Aleksandr Tshaplygin, said people from the Security Police spent about an hour searching the office and left without taking anything.
A search was also performed in Sepp's house. After procedural acts, Sepp was released later that same day.
At the moment, the Security Police have 10 suspects that are accused of having given bribes to the Juri Vilmsi Sihtkapital Foundation. Tallinn Pharmaceuticals and construction company Merko Ehitus are also suspects in the graft case
Raivo Unt, a board member of Tallinn Pharmaceuticals, has been interviewed in the framework of the same criminal case 's he is suspected of giving a bribe to Ivo Parbus in the form of a travel company's gift cards.
Other suspects include Parbus and former deputy governor of the Kristiine borough of Tallinn Aleksander Raide, businessmen Toivo Susi and Tonu Kors.
Both Susi and Raide were detained on Dec. 4, but released the next day. Kors was detained Dec. 10 but was soon released.
Edgar Savisaar, Mayor of Tallinn and Chairman of the Estonian Center Party, said Sepp's detention is clearly political.
The Tallinn City Council's opposition for years has been trying to link Sepp with corrupt transactions in connection with the privatization of municipal property. Law enforcement bodies, however, have been unable to obtain watertight evidence against him.
Sepp said through his lawyer that the "content of the suspicion is incomprehensible and seems groundless to him."
Elmar Sepp, former deputy chairman of the Tallinn City Council, is currently a member of the City Council. He is also chairman of the municipal economy committee, a member of the planning and land committees of the Central Tallinn administrative council and a member of the legal and finance committees of the City Council.
Sepp is also a chairman of the Lasnamae chapter of the Centrist Party and sits on the supervisory council of several companies.
As pre-trial investigation advances, the circle of suspects in the Tallinn graft probe may expand, prosecutors say.
During the pre-trial proceeding information has been collected which now has to be put to use, and this may mean emergence of further suspects, prosecutor for special cases at the North district prosecutor's office Kadri Valing said.
"Under the best scenario the pre-trial investigation may be completed by spring," said Valing.
