Businessman Parvel Pruunsild stands charged with aiding and abetting the same activity.

The criminal case has been sent to the first-tier Tartu County Court.

The charge sheet states that, in his role as deputy mayor of Tartu, Humal took part in various Tartu City Government meetings, discussions, and sessions that covered the relinquishment of property belonging to the Estonian National Museum (ERM).

Humal is charged with expressing his viewpoint, and that of Pruunsild, that the city should halt efforts to acquire the property, on Kuperjanovi 9, so that Pruunsild could achieve the desired outcome concerning that property.

Prosecutor Gerd Raudsepp said that based on the evidence amassed, the prosecution believes that Humal made decisions and actions relating to the property based on Pruunsild's personal interests.

This is not permissible for an official, under the terms of the Anti-Corruption Act.

Raudsepp said: "The Anti-Corruption Act bars an official from making decisions based on the economic or other personal interest of a person associated with them."

"A violation of conflict of interest does not hinge on whether the transaction was either beneficial or detrimental. The principle is such that the management of a local government must be, and must also appear to be, impartial and transparent, meaning that no decision relating to public property should be driven by any personal interest," Raudsepp continued.

Pruunsild, the charge sheet states, then pressured Humal to convince Tartu city government members to give up on purchasing the property, and as quickly as possible.

This development followed in January 2023, while in the spring of the same year, state real estate agency the RKAS held a fresh auction, which was won by the student corporation associated with Pruunsild.

The indictment also states that Humal and Pruunsild are long-term friends and are also economically linked.

The prosecution noted that evidence collected during pre-trial proceedings indicates that Pruunsild covered Humal's local government election campaign expenses ahead of the October 2021 local elections.

Additionally, as a major Isamaa donor, Pruunsild is claimed to wield "significant" influence within that party, to the extent that he can affect the political careers of its members, up to and including employment in various positions.

The prosecution noted that the evidence also suggests that Pruunsild, as one of the owners of Bigbank, personally intervened in loan processes relating to Humal's own close associates.

The upshot was they received a loan or loan offer, despite initially receiving a negative response under Bigbank's standard loan application process, the prosecution noted.

Given these alleged economic links, Humal should not have taken part in Tartu city government decision-making processes in respect of the Kuperjanovi street property, the charge sheet reads; conversely, he did not recuse himself from those processes, the indictment continues.

The Internal Security Service (ISS) made public the suspicions in late May last year, an announcement which prompted Humal to step down as deputy mayor the next day.

Humal has told ERR that he did discuss the Kuperjanovi street building with Pruunsild, but that this did not influence the city government's decision to abandon the building.

The former ERM property became available in 2017 due to the museum's relocation to the Raadi district, on the outskirts of Estonia's second city.

The City of Tartu City did consider acquiring the property from RKAS via an exchange agreement, to the extent that its use, to host the city's cultural institutions' activities, had been incorporated into the Tartu development plan through to 2025.

Pruunsild, reportedly wanted ownership of the property to go to the Sakala student fraternity, of which he is a member.

The pre-trial proceedings were conducted by the ISS, known in Estonian by its abbreviation, Kapo, under the direction of the Prosecutor's Office as is standard.

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