Prosecutor's Office: No basis for NGO Slava Ukraini criminal proceedings
The Estonian Prosecutor's Office has said, that in light of the information currently has, it does not see any grounds to open an investigation into the NGO Slava Ukraini, which has been suspected of improperly using funds received from charitable donations.
"As far as we are currently aware, there is no basis for (initiating) criminal proceedings in Estonia. As the suspected acts were committed in Ukraine, any investigation should be conducted primarily in Ukraine," Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Kairi Küngas told ERR on Monday.
"If necessary, Estonian law enforcement authorities are able to assist Ukraine in clarifying the circumstances, within the framework of international cooperation," Küngas added. However, she also admitted that the Estonian law enforcement authorities have not yet received any requests for international cooperation regarding this issue.
"We also have no knowledge of the activities of the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies," Küngas said.
"Should we receive any information about the possible misuse of funds or breach of the NGO's obligation to respect its proprietary interests, then we will consider initiating proceedings," she explained.
This weekend, Estonian daily Eesti Päevaleht reported, than Slava Ukraini had transferred part of the money donated by people in Estonia, to Ukrainian company IC Construction. According to the report, the only activity IC Construction conducted last year was related to the Estonian NGO and it recorded profits of €250,000.
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Editor: Michael Cole