Russia Behind Residence Permit Scandal, Says Accused
Tallinn City Council member Nikolai Stelmach, one of three politicians who found themselves in the media spotlight this week when details of their business providing residence permits to Russian businessmen came to light, has blamed Russian special services for turning the subject into a public scandal.
Speaking to ERR radio, Stelmach speculated that the Estonian media had become involved in what was an orchestrated international campaign.
"A couple of days ago at a United Russia [Russia's ruling party] congress, the opinion was expressed that all businessmen exporting capital to the European Union should, figuratively speaking, be shot," he said.
"And it's very possible that what's partly behind this news is the Russian special services or some other organization which, unfortunately, the Estonian press, including the public media, listened to," he said.
Stelmach argued that applying for a residence permit is a legal right for major investors.
"If the government, or the public, or some journalists don't like this law, they should say so and put the legislation under review," he said.
Under the current legislation, making an investment of 63,900 euros in an Estonian company entitles a non-EU citizen to apply for a temporary residence permit, which also gives them access to the Schengen zone.
Stelmach said he believed the minimum required investment should be raised to 100,000 or 200,000 euros.
Steve Roman