Central Criminal Police hand preliminary suspicion to Johanna-Maria Lehtme

In the criminal case of NGO Slava Ukraini, the Central Criminal Police has presented initial suspicions against the organization's former head Johanna-Maria Lehtme.
"A pre-trial investigation is ongoing in the criminal case concerning Slava Ukraini, aimed at determining whether the donations made to Slava Ukraini were used for their intended purpose and whether any harm was caused to the NGO in the process," state prosecutor Sigrid Nurm told ERR.
"We have questioned numerous parties involved in the matter, including issuing a preliminary suspicion against Johanna-Maria Lehtme," said Nurm.
"Given that several transactions took place during the period in question, analyzing the documentation of all these transactions and drawing conclusions from it is still in progress. Therefore, making final procedural decisions is currently not possible, and the preliminary suspicion may also change," Nurm stated.
Nurm emphasized that the Prosecutor's Office wants to highlight that issuing a suspicion is a necessary action to ensure the rights of the suspect during the proceedings and should not be equated with a person's conviction.
"Due to the current state of the investigation, the prosecution does not consider it possible to disclose the exact content or extent of the suspicion," Nurm said.
Prosecutor's Office refuses to comment on proceedings in Ukraine
Since a significant portion of the evidence related to Slava Ukraini's activities was located in Ukraine, the Prosecutor's Office established a joint investigative team with Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.
"The cooperation has been very good and effective. We have received a large number of important documents from the Ukrainian side, which first need to be translated before we can assess their relevance. Therefore, this is a time and resource-intensive process," Nurm said.
Simultaneously, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have also initiated an investigation.
"Unfortunately, we cannot comment on criminal proceedings taking place in other countries, as only the leading investigative body has the right to decide what information can be disclosed without affecting or compromising the investigation," Nurm explained.
The Prosecutor's Office cannot comment on the whereabouts or current activities of Lehtme, who has disappeared from the public eye. Lehtme has not responded to ERR's phone calls.
The Prosecutor's Office initiated a criminal investigation on May 9 last year to examine the use of funds collected by the NGO Slava Ukraini for supporting Ukraine. The investigation was launched under the article concerning embezzlement. The next day, Lehtme was dismissed from her position as the head of the NGO Slava Ukraini.
In the 2023 Riigikogu elections, Lehtme was the top vote magnet for the Eesti 200 party, receiving 5,251 votes in Tallinn's Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinn and Kristiine districts. On May 19, Lehtme announced that she would resign from her position as a member of the Riigikogu. At that time, she declined to comment on the charges against her.
Johanna Maria Lehtme, Janeli Sundja and Elo Laura Aaspõllu founded the NGO Slava Ukraini on March 7, 2022, in response to Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine, with the aim of supporting Ukraine and Ukrainians until the end of the war. In 2022, the NGO Slava Ukraini raised €6,525,488 in donations.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Marcus Turovski