ERR has repeatedly tried to obtain comment from Rahumägi on the artillery shell procurements, but he has not responded to requests. The text he published on social media presents a one-sided perspective and does not provide an opportunity to ask follow-up questions.

"The opposition's broadside against the prime minister yesterday is thin on facts. Since my name appears no fewer than six times in the questions sent to the prime minister, I suppose I should say something myself," Rahumägi wrote in a social media post published Tuesday.

He said the author of the inquiry could have avoided several factual errors with a simple Google search.

"For most of the signatories, I would also have been just a phone call away. Apparently, the concern was not that serious after all and this is instead the usual political gamesmanship. That's unfortunate because from the standpoint of Estonia's security, this is a serious issue and this is precisely where the usual mudslinging should be avoided," Rahumägi added.

In the post, he said he was not involved in any way in the purchase of ammunition from ARCA or any other company. "ESC OÜ, which I own, has advised ARCA since April 2025 on the competitive tender for the defense industry park. That is the full extent of the connection," Rahumägi said.

He said ESC primarily operates as a security-sector consultancy and leads security projects.

"We are one of the larger and internationally recognized companies in this field in Estonia and the other Baltic states. With ARCA's permission, I can confirm that we have been advising them since April last year. We do not disclose the precise nature or scope of the cooperation or specific projects: this is a client relationship between two private companies and the security sector is subject to stricter-than-usual confidentiality requirements," Rahumägi said.

He stressed that ARCA had initiated the contact and that his company had previously had no relationship with ARCA. At the same time, he said that, to his knowledge, another group of Estonian businesspeople had sought to offer themselves as ARCA representatives.

According to Rahumägi, foreign companies entering a new market almost always use local advisers, including lawyers, financial advisers, communications consultants and market and industry experts. He said the cooperation between ESC and ARCA was no different from this standard type of relationship.

He noted that 12 companies participated in the first round of the competitive tender for the defense industry park and that the three-stage process was conducted by the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK).

"All companies that reached the final round were given the opportunity to sign an agreement with RKIK and ARCA was one of them. The terms of the competitive tender stated unequivocally that the Estonian state had no obligation to purchase products from the successful companies," Rahumägi wrote.

He stressed that the process of establishing a factory and any potential ammunition procurements were two separate processes and that deliberately conflating the two gives the public a misleading impression.

Rahumägi said Rheinmetall and BAE Systems had initially expected the Estonian state to contribute approximately €150 million to €200 million toward construction of a factory, followed by an annual purchasing commitment of about €100 million. "Over eight to nine years, that would have meant a commitment of nearly €1 billion for the state. With warfare and the technology used in it changing so rapidly, the state must carefully consider purchasing guarantees of such duration," he said.

According to Rahumägi, the claim that ARCA had never genuinely intended to establish a factory in Estonia was inconsistent with the facts known to him.

"To my knowledge, company representatives spent all of last week in Estonia, held negotiations with construction companies and met with representatives of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) and the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS). ARCA is ready to begin construction as soon as the Estonian authorities issue the necessary permits," he said.

Rahumägi noted that the company had announced an investment of €300 million and approximately 1,000 jobs. "According to figures published by ARCA, its revenue last year amounted to $3 billion and it plans production in Estonia on a scale comparable to its plant in Turkey. Its intention to invest in Estonia is also stated on ARCA's website."

Rahumägi also rejected several claims that have been made about him.

He denied taking part in ammunition purchases or organizing the relevant procurements. Rahumägi said he had not communicated with the defense minister about ARCA's ammunition procurements or pressured the minister on those matters. According to Rahumägi, he has never participated in consultations involving the governing coalition. He said he had never heard of Oculus Strategic Solutions (the U.S. company that facilitated contact with Datasel — ed.) and had not put the company in touch with the defense minister (Hanno Pevkur, who held the post at the time — ed.).

He also said that, to his knowledge, ARCA's owner had neither been charged with nor convicted of corruption.

Rahumägi further wrote that ARCA's arrival represented a major opportunity for Estonia's security, while stressing that investments of this kind must be thoroughly vetted.

"But the discussion must be based on facts, not political insinuations, deliberately conflated processes and unfounded accusations. I consider attempts to portray lawful consulting work as participation in procurements with which neither I nor ESC OÜ have any connection to be unacceptable," he said.

"For me, advising ARCA is a mission that provides Estonia with a tangible security guarantee. Please, let's not ruin it with our usual bickering," Rahumägi said.

He also said that ESC signed a contract with RKIK in June 2024 to conduct background checks. According to Rahumägi, the agreement was signed by then-director general Magnus-Valdemar Saar, while then-permanent secretary Kusti Salm was also aware of it.

"To my knowledge, the minister was not involved. Nothing came of it beyond the contract. We did not conduct a single background check and did not earn a single euro from it. That's unfortunate because I am 100 percent certain that we would have been able to prevent the Datasel problem before it arose," he said.

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