Crime, Estonia, Financial Services, Legislation, Port, Transport

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 Kiil's lawyer Aivar Pilv.

The court resolved to compensate Kiil for procedural costs in the amount of 108,000 euros. The costs of the medical examination will be borne by the state. 

The court did not involve Allan Kiil as a third person or a defendant in civil procedure. The assets seized from Kiil were retuned to him in full. The court, however, did maintain a seizure on an amount of 879,863.50 euros seized as object of money laundering.

The court resolved to dismiss a civil lawsuit against Kiil.

The court will not disclose the circumstances of closing the case regarding Kiil in detail, as the information includes extremely delicate health data for the disclosure of which the court has not obtained consent from Kiil. The court said that evidence presented in writing, the statements of Kiil's treating physician and of three forensic doctor-experts were identical, which led the court to the only possible conclusion that Allan Kiil has fallen irremediably ill. 

"Based on the evidence presented, the court arrived at the firm conviction that Allan Kiil is not able to take part in the court sittings scheduled for three days a week until the beginning of November 2021. As the court immediately ascertained the inability of Allan Kiil to take part in sittings of the court and considering his irremediable illness, the court did not consider it possible to involve him as a defendant in civil procedure or a third person," the court said.

State Prosecutor Denis Tsasovskih told Postimees that the prosecution will not appeal the order of the court. He explained that filing an appeal would cause a disruption of several months in the trial, which would cost the parties to the proceeding valuable time in court.

Aivar Pilv, attorney for Kiil, described the court's order as being in line with expectations, as the health condition of Kiil does not enable him to stand trial. He said that the court also discussed the option that Kiil would participate in the proceeding by videoconference, but found that this is not possible given his state of health. 

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.

A third person, former head of Tallinna Sadam's 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, Tonis Pohla, Ullar Raad, Sven Honga, Toivo Promm, and Jan Paszkowski, as well as the companies HTG Invest AS and Keskkonnahoolduse OU. 

According to the statement of charges, Kiil and Kaljurand agreed to accept bribes from several businesses in return for these businesses' contractual relations with Tallinna Sadam being as smooth as possible.

Over the course of ten years, Kiil and Kaljurand agreed, acting together as well as separately, to accept bribes in the total amount of almost four million euros.

The biggest portion of it, approximately three million euros, is a bribe promised to Kiil by representatives of Turkish and Polish shipbuilding companies for being awarded contracts to build ferries for the Tallinna Sadam subsidiary TS Laevad.

According to the charges, Paide was ready to accept a bribe of more than 40,000 euros, Kaljurand of approximately 400,000 euros and Kiil of 3.5 million euros. Whereas the whole promised bribe reached Paide and Kaljurand, Kiil only had time to receive approximately two million euros before his arrest.

Kiil and Kaljurand were arrested on Aug. 26, 2015, but released at the beginning of 2016.

At the end of May, the court delivered the first decision in the trial by agreeing to settle Valdo Ounap's case by compromise and handing him a conditional jail sentence of two years and six months.

The criminal case was investigated by the Internal Security Service and the investigation was led by the Office of the Prosecutor General.