The husband of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has continued doing business in Russia. With the country being one of the loudest Ukraine supporters, critics say the scandal damages not only the reputation of Kallas, but also of Estonia as a whole.
"I am not involved in my husband's business, I am sorry, but I was not interested in it because it is my business and his business. That's the way it is, we trust each other,” the prime minister previously said.
Kallas’ husband Arvo Hallik owns a quarter of the shares of a logistics company Stark Logistics. Its trucks transported goods to and from Russia and serviced another Estonian company, Metaprint, which produces aerosol containers.
"Journalists can explain how companies calculate turnover. They did not realise that when supplying services to an Estonian company, the invoices only relate to Estonia," Kallas claimed.
Estonian media reports estimate that the logistics company earned €1.5 million in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. The majority shareholde of both companies is also the same person.
Previously, Kallas lent 350,000 euros to her husband's business. According to her, the money has since been repaid and her husband is now letting go of his share in the company and leaving the company.
But the opposition says it is too late.
"The war has been going on for a year and a half and our prime minister, together with other politicians, has been strongly demanding the implementation of sanctions and the withdrawal of business from Russia, to keep a moral compass,” said Tanel Kiik, chairperson of the opposition Centre Party.
“But at the same time, the prime minister's husband has continued his business and is selling his shares at the start of the crisis. Too little, too late", he added.
The scandal has created “a problem of distrust”, said Yevgeny Ossinovsky, chairman of the Social Democratic Party, part of the ruling coalition. “I hope that the prime minister will manage this situation, provide detailed explanations and restore confidence."
According to Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahka, “both Kaja Kallas and [her] Reform Party need to explain themselves”.
The editors of the country's biggest daily newspapers say Kallas is evading answers and must resign. Two polls taken last week show that a majority of Estonians also support Kallas's departure.
The opposition Centre Party says it is now preparing a vote of no confidence.
Meanwhile, Kallas refused to appear in the parliament on Tuesday, saying the committee that had invited her was not relevant in the case. The decision was condemned by the Estonian press, which alleged that she was undermining the country’s democracy.
In an interview with Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR, Kallas said she would answer all questions at the weekly press conference held on Thursday.
“I'm also about to re-start Riigikogu [parliamentary] question time sessions, when, every Wednesday, I answer Riigikogu MPs' questions, for a period of two hours. So I'm hardly evading these questions,” she said.
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