In August, ERR reported that former members of Slava Ukraini were divided over whether to file a claim against Johanna-Maria Lehtme. A decision has now been made: no claim will be filed.

Ilmar Raag, a former member of the NGO's supervisory board, wrote on social media that he supported bringing a lawsuit, but his position was in the minority.

"An email was sent to the 11 members of the general assembly asking whether they would agree to halt the liquidation process and authorize a law firm to represent Slava Ukraini as a victim in the upcoming trial on a pro bono basis. Six of the 11 responded in favor of continuing with liquidation and therefore against legal representation. Since that constitutes a majority, that's how the decision was made," Raag said.

He added that in recent weeks, several private companies had expressed willingness to support Slava Ukraini in filing a lawsuit against Lehtme to recover misused donor funds.

According to Raag, the decision by the former members of the organization means the general assembly has given up on representing donor interests and attempting to recover the money.

"In my view, that's the wrong decision, but I was in the minority in a democratic vote. I believe it's wrong primarily on principle. Every nonprofit that uses donor money is accountable to its donors," Raag explained.

He pointed out that while Slava Ukraini did suspend transfers to questionable organizations and launched a special audit, which is what sparked the scandal, they cannot independently decide Lehtme's guilt or innocence without a court ruling.

"That's for the court to decide. Therefore, we should have kept all options open for making the best possible use of donor funds until a verdict is reached. I'm personally not at all convinced that the court will ultimately rule in favor of restitution, but I stress that this is a matter of principle. We should not have withdrawn from representing donor interests before the court's decision," said the former board member.

Raag said one reason the general assembly declined to pursue the matter is that several individuals who initially pushed to shut down Slava Ukraini have since left the NGO.

He emphasized that not everyone was of the same mind and therefore, in his view, should not all be judged the same.

Slava Ukraini ceased operations last fall due to lack of funding and is currently in liquidation. According to the Prosecutor's Office, Lehtme is suspected of causing nearly €450,000 in damages. She is charged with breaching the trust of the organization and embezzling donation funds on a large scale.

A preliminary hearing in Lehtme's case is scheduled for Tuesday at Harju District Court.

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