Journalists Awarded for Exposing Sale of Residence Permits
The 2011 Bonnier Award - Estonia's most sought after investigative journalism prize - was presented to ETV journalists Mihkel Kärmas and Rasmus Kagge on Tuesday.
The two became the first to receive the award for TV journalism pieces, which, last November, revealed the lucrative enterprise of three elected officials who facilitated the sale of Estonian residence permits to rich Russian businessmen.
The award, accompanied with 4,500 euros in prize money, was presented at the Swedish Embassy in Tallinn by a representative of the Bonnier Group.
The journalists began investigating the story after coming across a clue in a long and otherwise boring court document regarding a business quarrel, said Kärmas, who previously received the same award years ago.
On page 17 of the document, the following phrase caught their attention: “and then we bought our business partners residence permits from Nikolai Stelmach.”
Fourteen pieces were nominated for the award and the winner was determined by a panel editors in chief from newspapers.
Ingrid Teesalu