The opposition called on Prime Minister Kaja Kallas to resign because it emerged that her husband’s company had business ties with Russia even after Putin’s attack on Ukraine. Russia has been subjected to numerous EU sanctions for its aggression. The wife of the Prime Minister of Estonia not only agreed with these principles, but also actively defended them.
Kagla Kalas, leader of the right-wing Liberal Reform Party, has been Estonia’s prime minister since 2021, when she was re-elected this spring. During the election campaign, he stood up to the maximum in support of Ukraine and demanded more sanctions against Russian aggressors.
Little Estonia was part of the Soviet Union, so Putin’s aggression has detonated tensions there, with many fearing that the Russians are preparing for similar action against the Baltic states. Large Russian minorities live in Estonia and Latvia, and Putin can refer to them as much as to the Russians living in Ukraine. Another question is how
Estonia is a member of NATO and the European Union, which means that Putin will think twice before attacking the small Baltic state, whose borders are guaranteed by the United States.
The odd couple is from the Estonian elite
While the liberal Cagla-Calas was engaged in politics, her husband achieved success in business. The husband was the chief financial officer and co-owner of Stark Logistics, and the company continued to maintain some business relationships with companies operating in Russia. As a result of the scandal, the husband of the Estonian Prime Minister announced that he would sell his 25% stake in the company and resign as CFO.
The husband defends himself by saying, “We wanted to save an Estonian company from bankruptcy.” He asserted that his wife, the prime minister, knew nothing of Russian contacts. The prime minister’s wife supported her husband’s company with a loan of 350,000 euros after it was in a difficult situation due to the sanctions imposed on Russia. The pair has now confirmed that the PM’s loan was recently repaid by the company.
Estonia had very close financial relations with Russia even after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Putin, who at the time was the economic deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, is liquidating billions of rubles in Estonia and Latvia that he gained through his connections with the mafia in the former Leningrad.
Danske Bank failed in Tallinn, committing a financial fraud of more than 130 billion euros. The biggest part of this was the money laundering of the Russian mafia in the capital of Estonia. Denmark’s largest bank admitted its guilt and will pay two billion dollars in compensation to Denmark and the US Department of Justice, which exposed the financial scandal.
The press also revealed that Russian President Putin’s family members are also involved in money laundering, as well as several members of the Secret Service and General Staff of the Federal Security Service. Igor Putin, the president’s cousin, is also on the list containing Russian money laundering mafia names involved.
After the scandal broke in Tallinn, Russian-speaking agents threatened the directors of Danske Bank in Tallinn: “We will sink you and your bank!” or:
“Do you think if you start a money-laundering investigation, you can go home in the evening?”
Money laundering has been taking place in Tallinn for decades, and the trial opened this spring with six defendants. Investigations into the massive financial scandal are still ongoing in several European countries. The Attorney General of Estonia stated in connection with the trial that Russian influence played a major role in a €130 billion financial scandal in Estonia.
