On Monday evening, news emerged that the Estonian Artists' Union had lost €700,000 through a scam scheme.

On May 15, Ektermann received a call from the bank indicating that suspicious transactions had been carried out from the union's accounts via the chief accountant. The chief accountant's duties have been suspended pending the investigation, and the individual is cooperating to help resolve the case.

Under the Estonian Non-profit Associations Act and the union's own bylaws, members of the board are also responsible for financial losses.

In this particular case, the direct actor, the person responsible for the loss, and also the victim was the accountant. However, the board is responsible, among other duties, for overseeing accounting.

Ektermann confirmed to ERR that the board will not step down, at least for now.

"At the moment, the Artists' Union needs short-, medium-, and long-term plans, and that's what we are working on," Ektermann explained.

According to the president, an internal investigation will also begin within the union, and the composition of the commission conducting it should be determined in the near future. Ektermann noted that the investigation will certainly address governance issues, and if problems are identified, the union's council has the authority to recall the board.

As an additional detail, although the bylaws stipulate that the board should have three members, the last two terms have consisted of only two. According to the bylaws, the third member — elected by the council — should be an expert in economics, finance, or law and does not have to belong to the union.

In addition to Ektermann, who has a background in art history, the board includes vice president and interior architect Tüüne-Kristin Vaikla.

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