Criminal investigation launched into church renovations

TALLINN - The Estonian Prosecutor's Office announced this week that it will launch a criminal investigation into possible financial violations surrounding renovations to the Estonian St. John's Church in St. Petersburg.

The national audit office at the end of last year relased a report that found the culture ministry had broken several laws in the process of renovating the church.

"There is clearly the appearance of deliberate neglect of public procurement law," Tarmo Olgo, head of the auditing department that analyzes the efficiency of finances, told ETV in January.

The audit found that an unnecessarily high-interest loan taken out to complete the project would cost Estonian taxpayers about 1.3 million euros.

"There is clearly the appearance of deliberate neglect of public procurement law," said Olgo.

Numerous cultural officials have come out in support of the renovations, saying that much of the money will be used for an Estonian opera and classical music festival that will take place there in the near future.

the St. John's church is one of the most historically important Estonian churches outside the country, with much of the congregation playing roles in the movement for independence.