Madise said no covert surveillance was carried out on independent MP Kalle Grünthal, despite evidence in his criminal case file showing he wasn't physically present at gas stations when his Riigikogu-issued fuel cards were used.

Last week, Estonian MPs voted 58 in favor to lift Grünthal's parliamentary immunity so he can face trial on suspicion of misusing Riigikogu fuel cards. Madise recommended the step at the request of the Prosecutor's Office.

Speaking in the Session Hall of the Riigikogu, she told lawmakers that Grünthal was suspected of allowing his son and his son's ex-spouse to use the fuel cards issued to him by the Riigikogu. Grünthal has said they filled up the tank with about €3,042 worth of fuel over seven months.

In the Riigikogu, officials said prosecutors relied on photos, videos and phone call metadata indicating Grünthal wasn't present at the gas stations where the fuel cards were being used.

Grünthal then questioned whether banned surveillance methods had been used against him, pointing to the roughly 800-page case file as evidence that investigators had monitored his movements.

Madise pushed back. She told him — and later stated in a written reply to the Riigikogu — that nothing in the file was collected through real-time monitoring.

"Covert monitoring — surveillance — would only be at issue if those photos had been taken while following Kalle Grünthal in real time," she said, adding that the case file contains no such photos or videos.

According to Madise, the images came from later reviews of recordings from security cameras in public spaces. Reviewing security footage from cameras in public spaces after the fact, she said, is a standard investigative step and "a type of evidence permitted by law."

She also noted that reviewing earlier camera footage and taking screenshots of it does not require court or prosecutor authorization. And the law, she added, does not grant Riigikogu MPs any special protection in such routine actions.

Madise also told Estonian lawmakers that obtaining telecommunications metadata from phone companies is not considered surveillance under Estonian law. It does require a court order, she said — and investigators had one.

Grünthal may face embezzlement charges

Evidence gathered during the pretrial investigation suggests MP Kalle Grünthal embezzled property belonging to someone else, the Office of the Prosecutor General said in October as they moved to have Grünthal stripped of his parliamentary immunity.

By law, Riigikogu MPs may use official fuel cards only for work-related travel. Investigators believe Grünthal used cards issued by the Chancellery of the Riigikogu for personal use at least 46 times in 2023, totaling about €3,000.

Such conduct qualifies as embezzlement under the Penal Code, said state prosecutor Eneli Laurits.

Prosecutors say they have collected sufficient evidence to proceed by drawing up charges and sending the case to court.

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