Riigikogu committee vetting members' self-declared interests

Eerik-Niiles Kross at the Special Riigikogu sitting, August 31 2022.
Eerik-Niiles Kross at the Special Riigikogu sitting, August 31 2022. Source: Ken Mürk/ERR

The Anti-Corruption Select Committee is starting to check government and Riigikogu members' declared interests and will create an overview over the next few months.

This year, the committee will check ministers' and MPs' interests, said vice-chairman Eerik-Niiles Kross (Reform).

"The commission wants to raise awareness and the quality of declarants' declarations. We will summarise the results by the end of the autumn session," he said.

The committee must submit an overview of members' interests once a year, according to the Anti-Corruption Act.

New members of the Riigikogu, who previously did not need to submit a declaration, must do so by August 1.

The committee has the right to check interests declared by the president, MPs, ministers, judges, state auditors, the chancellor of justice, Bank of Estonia's officials, amongst others.

Assets, such as vehicles and property, associated companies, income, tax paid, and dividends "that may potentially have an impact on the performance of the official duties" and exceeds "the salaries of high-ranking state public servants applicable during the preceding year by a factor of 1.0" must be declared.

Last year the committee checked a random sample of local government officials', Anti-Corruption Committee members', new Riigikogu MPs', and political advisers' declarations.

In 2020, those submitted by MPs were vetted and in 2019 Riigikogu members and ministers.

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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Helen Wright

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