The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) has reviewed materials made public in connection with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and has found no indications of a crime committed in Estonia. As a result, the investigative authority is unable to initiate criminal proceedings, Interior Minister Igor Taro (E200) explained.

Responding to an inquiry from Riigikogu member Aleksandr Tšaplõgin (Center Party), Taro outlined why Estonia, unlike Latvia and Lithuania, did not launch a criminal investigation on the basis of the files.

The interior minister noted that no victims have contacted the police with a criminal complaint. In addition, the Prosecutor's Office has not instructed the Police and Border Guard Board to open proceedings, nor has it initiated proceedings itself.

Should new circumstances emerge, Estonia may still launch an investigation.

"The police cannot rule out that the disclosure of additional materials, the emergence of new circumstances or requests received through international cooperation may create a need to initiate criminal proceedings in order to verify and clarify the facts. In such a case, action will be taken without delay, in accordance with the law," Taro said.

No requests have been received by the Police and Border Guard Board or the Internal Security Service from law enforcement or investigative authorities in other countries, he added.

In response to a question about whether references in Epstein's correspondence to the "prime minister of Estonia" had been assessed from the standpoint of the country's reputation, security and potential risks of blackmail or compromise, the interior minister said: "According to the Estonian Internal Security Service, the known mentions concerning Estonia do not provide grounds to say that what has been published points to previously unknown risks threatening Estonia's security. Based on current knowledge, there is no reason to speak of anything of that sort regarding the fragments of information related to Estonia."

"Given that the published data is incomplete, the Internal Security Service is clarifying and verifying the information in order to assess potential security threats," the minister added.

Tšaplõgin also asked what steps the Ministry of the Interior considers necessary and sufficient to clarify all circumstances related to mentions of Estonia and senior Estonian officials in the Epstein materials.

"For the Police and Border Guard Board, the central principle is that criminal proceedings are initiated when circumstances indicating elements of a criminal offense emerge. If new facts requiring verification come to light through the publication of additional information or in the course of international cooperation, the police are prepared to open proceedings and clarify the circumstances," Taro replied.

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