Otepää municipality mayor: Corruption claims are 'odd'
Otepää Municipal Mayor Kaido Tamberg, who was apprehended for 48 hours on suspicion of corruption by the office for the investigation of corruption crimes of the Central Criminal Police on Tuesday, was released on Thursday morning, the regional newspaper Lõuna-Eesti Postimees reports.
Otepää Mayor Kaido Tamberg said he thought the initial suspicions lodged against him were odd.
He said: "I don't see these suspicions providing any basis for such action like the one carried out. Secondly, these are mostly old matters. I think they could've just asked about it. These documents are also all publicly available. That is my opinion and the proceedings are now underway. Perhaps at some point they'll become charges, and if there are charges, the matter will be taken to court. The circumstances will be determined, too,"
The Central Criminal Police on Tuesday detained Tamberg, deputy mayor of Otepaa Kajar Lepik and two more people suspected of embezzlement pursuant to the corresponding division of the Penal Code. One of them is also suspected of abuse of trust.
The suspects' places of residence and work and the related companies were searched. As part of the criminal proceedings, the police will among other things also check transactions and agreements relating to the ownership of one registered immovable and the Sangaste Castle. The criminal proceedings are still in the early stage and the police are presently collecting additional evidence to verify the suspicions, the prosecutor's office said.
The South District Prosecutor's Office told BNS on Thursday that it does not deem it necessary to ask the court to place the suspects into custody.
--
Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!
Editor: Helen Wright