Foreign minister pays €10,000 to rent summer home from family of major businessman
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) is spending his second summer in a row vacationing in Käsmu, where he rents a house partly owned by the wife and mother-in-law of businessman Heiti Hääl. Tsahkna says he does not see any conflict of interest in the arrangement.
Tsahkna is spending his second summer in Käsmu, where he rents a house through the private company Sorru Kinnistu. The company was established last year by Margus Välkmann, who also serves as the harbor master at Käsmu Harbor, the board members of which include businessmen Heiti Hääl and Tiit Pruuli.
Sorru Kinnistu does not own the property in question, but instead manages and leases it. The company's turnover last year was about €35,000.
Tsahkna told ERR that he signed the rental agreement with Sorru Kinnistu last year, paying €10,000 for the season.
"All other information is public and available to everyone," the foreign minister added, noting that he does not use the house outside the summer months. "It's an old house, livable only in warm weather, so we stay there in the summer."
Välkmann said the rental agreement with Tsahkna runs until the end of the current season.
The property where the summer house stands has three owners: Malle Välkmann, Vee-Randa OÜ and OÜ Mummi Maja. The latter is jointly owned by Heiti Hääl's wife, Reet Hääl, and her mother.
Heiti Hääl owns numerous businesses, some of which are directly affected by government regulations and decisions. One example is the Paldiski pumped-storage project, in which Alexela is an investor and for which the developer hopes to secure a state guarantee.
ERR asked Tsahkna whether he saw a problem in renting a summer house from the family of a prominent figure in Estonia's business world, and whether, as a government minister, he had participated in decisions involving Heiti Hääl's business interests.
"I also occasionally buy gas and a burger from Alexela, and as we know, Alexela is not owned by Heiti Hääl's family members but by Hääl himself," Tsahkna replied.
ERR was also contacted by Reet Hääl, who said linking her property to her husband was inappropriate, as they have a marital property agreement.
"This is my great-grandmother's house," she said, adding that Sorru is jointly owned by three relatives, while Mummi Maja's shareholders are herself and her 93-year-old mother.
"The connection you are making with Tsahkna is completely arbitrary. My mother is from here, I am from here. The only link Heiti Hääl has to Käsmu is that he is my husband," Reet Hääl said. "Why bring Heiti Hääl into this at all?"
She accused the journalist of harassment and said she did not understand why her husband was being tied to Sorru.
"Anyone can lease property to whomever they wish. I have other rental properties in Käsmu as well, and those are not connected to Heiti Hääl either," she added. She noted that she personally has more contact with Margus Tsahkna's wife, who, for example, has helped organize children's camps in Käsmu.
The Alexela Group, founded by Heiti Hääl, operates in retail and wholesale sales of motor fuels, electricity and natural gas, as well as retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco products. Last year, the group's turnover exceeded €594 million.
Tsahkna last found himself in hot water over allegations of a possible conflict of interest when he was forced to sell his stake in field hospital maker Semetron/MM Hospital that handled contracts for the Estonian Defense Forces.
The media has previously covered other politicians' rental arrangements. In 2016, it emerged that then-Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas (Reform) was renting part of a house from Kristi and Gert Tiivas — Kristi being Rõivas' economic adviser and Gert an investment banker who had also led ISP Starman.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
