On May 15, Estonian Artists' Association President Maarin Ektermann received a call from the bank informing her that suspicious transactions had been carried out from the association's accounts through its chief accountant. Speaking at a press conference, Ektermann said the association holds accounts with Swedbank and SEB and that the attack affected both banks and all of the association's accounts.

According to Ektermann, the nearly €700,000 stolen by the scammers consisted primarily of earmarked funding from the Ministry of Culture intended to cover this year's artist salaries paid through the association. The stolen funds also included support payments under the Creative Persons and Creative Associations Act, operational support for galleries and the association's own funds.

"After discovering the damage, I immediately filed a report with the police. The North Prefecture opened criminal proceedings, which are being led by the Northern District Prosecutor's Office," Ektermann said.

The association's chief accountant, whose account was used to make the transfers, has been suspended from work duties for the duration of the investigation. Ektermann said the accountant is fully cooperating in efforts to resolve the case.

"We are sincerely sorry that this happened and that it became possible to fall victim to such fraud. We can confirm that we will still be able to pay this month's salaries to all employees and recipients of artist salaries, while creative grants had fortunately already been paid out before the attack. At present, we have 20 recipients of artist salaries, nearly 30 recipients of creative grants and 25 employees working either part time or full time for the association," Ektermann said.

There are two victims in the case: in addition to the Estonian Artists' Association, the accountant was also defrauded after handing over a personal bank card to the scammers. The accountant's losses amount to tens of thousands of euros.

Scammers pose as mail carrier Omniva

Rait Pikaro, head of the criminal bureau at the Police and Border Guard Board's North Prefecture, said the criminals first contacted the association's chief accountant on May 7, posing as an employee of Omniva's delivery center in order to hand over a registered letter addressed to the association's former president.

"They exploited the person's goodwill and sense of duty. The victim was told that in order to complete the procedure, they needed to identify themselves through remote authentication by entering PIN codes. After that came a call supposedly from the Bank of Estonia claiming they had fallen victim to a cyberattack and needed to act quickly to protect the money in the bank accounts," Pikaro explained.

Shortly afterward, the victim received another call, allegedly from the police, and was drawn into what was presented as a secret police operation to identify the fraudsters. This involved handing over all PIN codes and installing remote access software on the computer. Outside actors were then able to operate the computer and carry out transfers.

"This went on for a week and during that time the accountant also handed over their bank cards," Pikaro said, adding that real police officers never ask to install software on someone's computer, involve people in secret operations or request that they keep such matters hidden from relatives or employers.

When Swedbank alerted police on May 15 and officers then went to the offices of the Estonian Artists' Association, it became clear they were already far too late — large sums had been transferred to the criminals over the course of the week. However, Pikaro noted that even while police were on site, there was still activity taking place on the computer, meaning officers were able to prevent some additional losses through their intervention.

The money was transferred to accounts in five foreign countries and police consider the chances of recovering it to be minimal.

Unclear which assets association will need to liquidate

Ektermann said that because the scammers did not manage to drain the accounts completely, the association will still be able to pay May salaries both to recipients of artist salaries and to its 25 staff members, some of whom work full time and others part time.

"Fortunately, the creative grants for May had already been paid out. What happens in June and the following months is something the crisis committee now has to address. The association has assets that we will have to begin liquidating. What exactly, how and on what basis will be decided together with the board, the crisis committee and the council," Ektermann said. "This will not happen very quickly and the question of how to get through the coming months is a painful one."

The association's assets consist of real estate and an art collection, though exactly what will be put up for sale will become clear once the figures have been analyzed in detail and discussed with the council, Ektermann said. She reiterated that the Estonian Artists' Association will definitely not cease operations and will continue to fulfill its commitments to the cultural sector. Exhibitions will continue as planned, and salaries remain the priority.

"This is truly a catastrophe," the association president said. "It is both an emotional and a financial shock."

An extraordinary meeting of the council of the Estonian Artists' Association convened Monday evening where representatives of member associations and artists were informed about what had happened and discussed possible next steps. The council authorized the board to deal with the crisis and a crisis committee was also established, which, according to the association's president, will include outside experts and a representative from the Ministry of Culture in addition to association staff.

In addition, the association has enlisted Klaar.me for financial advice, Agenda PR as its communications partner and Sorainen for legal assistance.

According to Rait Pikaro, the case is part of a broader wave of fraud schemes. Police receive 50 to 60 reports every day about scammers attempting to deceive people and between five and 10 individuals or companies lose money daily. During the first four months of this year, there were 1,100 fraud-related crimes, with total damages amounting to €8 million.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!