Ligi: Estonia to suffer from reputational damage when hiring US law firm
Former Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi (Reform Party) said hiring US lawyers means the hope of making money is small and Estonia will suffer from reputational damage.
"We lack practice where one state that imposes fines wants to share it with another. The attempt itself is not that bad but truth be told, it is depressing that a lot of propaganda is made out of this," said Ligi to ERR.
Based on Ligi's information, the legal aid issues are generally dealt with more discreetly.
He said if the goal is to fight against Estonia's reputational damage, then it will bring the opposite result. "Of course, the biggest uproar will be associated with Estonia again in these cases," Ligi said.
Ligi emphasized that Estonia has never been at the center of money laundering although there have been discussions about Estonia being in it.
The probability of Estonia receiving money is less than 50 percent when issuing fines, Ligi estimated.
Current Minister of Finance Martin Helme (EKRE) signed a contract with a US law firm called Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP which was reported by the media on Friday morning. The law firm will provide legal services to Estonia in international money laundering investigations.
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Editor: Katriin Eikin Sein
