Prosecutor: Sildaru court case a 'family tragedy'
Neither side was the winner in the embezzlement hearing, which ended with the father and coach of two freestyle ski stars being found guilty, a prosecutor said.
The first-tier Harju County Court on Tuesday convicted Tõnis Sildaru of embezzling assets belonging to his daughter, freestyle skier Kelly Sildaru, at a time when she was a minor.
The offenses dated back over a decade and amounted to sums over half a million euros. Sildaru senior was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence.
"As I have repeatedly said, the ruling is indeed a conviction, but in this criminal case neither side won. In reality, both sides are losers, as this is simply a family tragedy," Prosecutor Leelet Kivioja told ERR.
"Criminal cases like this should never reach the courts. An out-of-court settlement would have been ideal. Both parties were also offered the opportunity to settle and find another solution, but unfortunately that did not happen during the proceedings," she added.
The court ordered that Tõnis Sildaru must reimburse his daughter, now 24, the sum of €211,207, and bear her legal costs, amounting to €95,235. Tõnis Sildaru must also bear his own defense costs incurred during the criminal proceedings, totaling €81,183.
"I think we'll take a little time," he said when leaving the courtroom, on being asked by the press pack whether he would appeal the decision.
The court found Tõnis Sildaru, 44, illegally redirected money deposited into his daughter's account for the benefit of himself, his relatives, and third parties under his control. Kelly Sildaru's younger sibling, Henry, 19, took silver in the halfpipe event at February's Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Estonia's sole medal at the games. Tõnis Sildaru is his coach.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Anders Nõmm
