Delfi reports that the criminal case is based on a section of the Penal Code that concerns making and accepting prohibited donations in large amounts. Delfi reports that the investigation is connected to Parvel Pruunsild, a major donor to Isamaa.

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Kairi Küngas, head of public relations for the Prosecutor's Office, told ERR. She said a pretrial investigation is underway and therefore no further information will be released at this time.

Isamaa secretary general Andres Metsoja said in a comment to ERR that law enforcement authorities have not contacted the Isamaa party and no procedural actions have been carried out with regard to the party. "In light of the claims published in the media, we will reach out to the Prosecutor's Office for further information."

Parvel Pruunsild also told ERR that no one has contacted him in connection with the reported launch of a criminal case. However, he said that various individuals have reached out to him and told him such an investigation is underway.

"From the questions people have been asked, I understand that the financing of Isamaa is being investigated during the period when Parempoolsed were trying to take over the party. /.../ I supported different people in different ways during the internal struggle to keep Isamaa the way it is," Pruunsild said.

When asked specifically whether that support included financial backing, Pruunsild confirmed it did, but declined to say how much or whom he supported. "I don't even know exactly what I'm being accused of."

Isamaa experienced major internal conflict in early 2022, culminating in March with the expulsion of leading members of the Parempoolsed internal group — Tõnis Kons, Lavly Perling, Kristjan Vanaselja and Siim-Valmar Kiisler. They later founded a new political party under the same name. At the time, the loudest critics of the Parempoolsed faction and those demanding their departure from Isamaa included Tõnis Palts, Riina Solman and Mart Maastik.

According to Pruunsild, the goal of targeting him is to scare off donors who support more conservative parties. "That's the real aim here, but I can't give in to something like that. Yes, it's definitely very uncomfortable for me too, but there's nothing to be done."

Pruunsild, who is a member of Isamaa, claimed that the case involving the former exhibition hall of the Estonian National Museum (ERM), which also implicated Priit Humal, was built around an attempt to gain access to his computer.

"I was repeatedly warned that if I didn't leave those ISS (Estonia's Internal Security Service — ed.) guys alone and kept appealing, the authorities would keep coming after me. And when I saw the kind of material that was used in the ERM case — completely unrelated — it was really only a matter of time before something new would be fabricated."

Pruunsild said his attention was already drawn in 2022 to an interview with [now Parempoolsed leader] Lavly Perling, in which she called on law enforcement to look into the financial dealings of Pruunsild and Isamaa. "I became very cautious after that because Perling's husband (Martin Perling — ed.) happens to be the deputy director of ISS, right?"

Citing its sources, Delfi wrote that in the past two weeks, the Central Criminal Police has moved into the public investigative phase and several individuals connected to Isamaa have been questioned as witnesses. However, no members of the party's top leadership are said to have been among them so far.

According to the Political Party Financing Surveillance Committee, Pruunsild has donated €2,078,000 to Isamaa since 2016.

Isamaa chair: Not a normal situation

Party leader Urmas Reinsalu said he is awaiting clarity on the Delfi claims and that the prosecutor's office had been approached by Isamaa.

He told "Aktuaalne kaamera": "We have no more information than the alleged information published in one media outlet. We certainly want immediate clarity, because this understandably causes confusion with the public. And we have also turned to the prosecutor's office for clarification, as this is not a normal situation."

Isamaa's council met in Tallinn on Sunday, and confirmed the general congress to go ahead on May 31, and options for cooperation with the other three opposition parties at the Riigikogu, in particular the creation of a potential united front, to apply pressure on the next VAT and excise duty hikes due to come into effect.

A party statement noted that a united opposition, including unaffiliated MPs, would almost be enough to block these indirect tax hikes – while tempting over a few coalition MPs would then be sufficient.

"We are working toward this, because otherwise we must accept the fact that by the end of the year, Estonia will be the European country with the highest price rises," the statement read.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include comments from Isamaa chair Urmas Reinsalu.

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