Former minister and ex-MP Kalle Laanet found guilty of fraud
Harju District Court on Monday found former minister and MP Kalle Laanet (Reform) guilty of fraud, sentencing him to a suspended one year and four months in prison.
Prosecutors said that in 2022 and 2023, Laanet, as minister and later MP, knowingly applied for rent reimbursement from the Ministry of Justice and Chancellery of the Riigikogu for a lease with a related party, daily paper Õhtuleht writes.
The lease was with a company owned by his wife's son. As officials were unaware of the connection, Laanet received over €13,000 in illegitimate housing reimbursements, according to the indictment.
The first-tier Tallinn court ruled Monday that a stepchild counts as a related party, meaning Laanet should not have rented the apartment from him.
The Riigikogu stripped Laanet of parliamentary immunity last May. At the time, he told lawmakers he never intended to claim public funds he was not entitled to and that he had disclosed all of his leases to the relevant ministries and chancellery.
The pretrial investigation was led by the District Prosecutor's Office for Economic Crime and Corruption and conducted by the Central Criminal Police.
Read more about it in Õhtuleht.
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Aili Vahtla
