The opposition Isamaa party, currently the most popular political force in Estonia according to polls, is under investigation by the Central Criminal Police for two separate sets of events tied to party funding rules between 2020 and 2024.

Prosecutor Taavi Pern said, under the Political Parties Act, legal entities are banned from financing political parties or offering them financially assessable benefits and services free of charge. Providing or accepting donations over €40,000 is considered a criminal offense.

"The suspicion, in summary, is that [businessmen and Isamaa members] Parvel Pruunsild and Tõnis Palts involved various legal entities and individuals in making prohibited donations to the Isamaa party. According to the suspicion, the total amount of prohibited donations comes to approximately €330,000," Pern outlined.

Conservative businessman Pruunsild is a majority stakeholder in Bigpank, an Isamaa member and major sponsor for many years. He is said to wield considerable political influence on account of his donations to political parties, especially in matters of family benefits policy.

In total, there are suspicions against six individuals and three legal entities.

The money was allegedly given to NGO Isamaalised by Pruunsild, Kaspar Kokk and Mart Maastik. The organization's activities were coordinated by Palts. According to the suspicion, the donations were accepted on behalf of the party by Juhani Jaeger, Kokk, Maastik and Andres Luus.

Isamaa's Maastik blasted the allegations as absurd, saying that he seems to be accused of donating his legally earned money to an NGO in order to promote certain social values and then also accepting a supposedly illegal donation as a member of the nonprofit.

The case concerns the period in 2021 when Helir-Valdor Seeder and Lavly Perling were both running for party chair. Perling and her supporters had formed an internal faction called Parempoolsed (The Right-Wingers), while Seeder's more ardent backers rallied behind the NGO Isamaalised (The Patriotic). That NGO was actively supported by Pruunsild, who has been a member of Isamaa since October 28, 1999. Palts served as Isamaalised's executive director.

Pruunsild accuses Parempoolsed's Perling of a witch hunt

In an interview with ERR, Pruunsild suggested that the investigation is being pursued on behalf of Perling, former prosecutor general, now head of the Parempoolsed party that grew out of the Isamaa splinter group.

Pern, Perling and incumbent Prosecutor General Astrid Asi have dismissed such accusations as absurd.

The case has brought about a public debate over whether Estonia's party financing rules are clear enough, including whether the Prosecutor's Office has too much discretionary power in terms of which investigations to pursue due to vague phrasing in the Political Parties Act.

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