Bank of Estonia Maintains Claims on Falsified Letter
In the VEB Fund case, the Bank of Estonia has dismissed counterarguments presented in an analysis commissioned by former central bank governor Vahur Kraft.
Conducted by the international auditor Rödl & Partner, the analysis said it cannot be conclusively ascertained that falsification allegations tracing back to 1995 can be confirmed, because supplementary documents that might prove otherwise could be missing.
But in a letter yesterday to a special parliamentary committee investigating the matter, the Bank of Estonia said the analysis is inaccurate. The bank maintained that evidence was conclusive, also disagreeing with other assertions in the analysis.
In January, the central bank's audit found that a 1995 document signed by Kraft contained false information. "Indirect evidence implies that this was a planned action," the bank had said.
The letter entailed Estonian claims against Moscow's Vnesheconombank. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia froze 850 million kroons worth of Estonian assets.
Kraft is currently director of Nordea Estonia.