The entrepreneur Jaak Roosaare, 42, recently addressed the issue at length in an article published by investigative weekly Eesti Ekspress.

Minister of Justice Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) said that she cannot comment on specific cases, but stressed that legal proceedings cannot be initiated merely for the sake of establishing guilt.

Financial Supervision Authority spokesperson Kais Gabral said: "The Financial Supervision Authority oversees only those companies which it has issued a license to operate to."

"Finantsinspektsioon is not an investigative body," she went on.

"If the authority holds suspicions regarding certain activities or firms, it forwards the information to the appropriate investigative authorities in a timely manner. Right now there is nothing further to add beyond what has already been stated in previous blog posts and comments published in the media," Gabral added.

ERR attempted to get clarification from the financial authority on whether, following the Eesti Ekspress article and its content, the authority saw grounds to file a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office which would prefigure an investigation into Roosaare's actions.

The recent article stated that Roosaare, known as the author of "Rikkaks saamise õpiku" ("A guide to getting rich"), earned a 4 percent commission for mediating small investor funds to Planet42, a startup now facing significant difficulties.

According to Eesti Ekspress, Roosaare facilitated loans totaling €12 million from 600 small investors, via Planet42 syndicates.

Finantsinspektsioon declined the opportunity to provide further clarification to the national broadcaster on its position in the matter, however.

Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Allan Rajavee did respond to ERR's inquiry on whether an investigation into Roosaare's activities would be investigated, or if the office had received any complaints about them, to say: "The Prosecutor's Office has not opened a criminal investigation in this aspect, so therefore we are unable to comment further."

PPA spokesperson Leana Loide responded similarly: "No complaints have been filed with the police over Jaak Roosaare's activities."

"The Criminal Police gathers information from public sources, and if signs of a crime emerge, a criminal investigation must begin. At present, there is no criminal investigation."

Minister Pakosta, when asked to comment on the situation, reiterated that ministers cannot assess the merits and demerits of individual actions, adding this is the responsibility of Estonia's law enforcement and oversight bodies.

These have the power to investigate, based on public information and complaints, she added.

"When these institutions find evidence of wrongdoing, they can initiate proceedings. In any case it is important to stress that simply a search for guilt establishment may not be conducted," Pakosta continued.

The financial authority had previously stated that Roosaare's activities do not fall under its area of supervision.

However, Eesti Ekspress journalist Oliver Kund, who first reported on Planet42's financial difficulties, wrote that the Prosecutor's Office, the PPA and the Ministry of Finance alike had indicated that the issue should be addressed by Finantsinspektsioon.

In a blog post on September 20, Finantsinspektsioon board member Siim Tammer had posed the question: "Do we really want a society where criminals are created based on emotion?"

Tammer argued that if someone suffers a loss in an investment, people often expect that someone must be held criminally responsible, yet that is not how the rule of law works, as demonstrated by various court rulings  – particularly in complex, white-collar crime cases. These often result in acquittals, Tammer wrote in his post.

According to Tammer, authorities need sufficient information and appropriate analysis before taking a position, as this can impact the future of the individual involved.

Tammer wrote: "Yes, I am sure that Planet42 and Jaak Roosaare's activities will be assessed; this will certainly happen. But this cannot be done as quickly as one might become a syndicate investor."

As to the question why state agencies had not acted sooner, Tammer's response was to ask whether we want a country where every state institution works on the presumption of guilt, rather than innocence, then monitors everyone, everywhere.

Tammer stressed that the financial authority is mandated primarily to supervise financial entities which it has issued licenses to, as well as specified activities which they have applied to the authority for permission to carry out.

At the same time, Postimees reported last week about a case involving an individual with the given name Mari-Liis, who had started offering small loans to private individuals, and advertising the service via Facebook groups.

After disbursing several loans via a website and which came to €400 in total, Finantsinspektsioon already started looking into Mari-Liis' activities.

After responding, Mari-Liis was hit with a warning over issuing credit without a license. The authority justified its actions by stating that it has the right to issue warnings to protect the public from unauthorized financial services and/or from illegal activity within the financial services sector.

Planet42 is a car rental platform operating in South Africa and Mexico

It was founded in 2017 under the legal name Inclusion OÜ by Estonians Eerik Oja and Marten Orgna.

Over the seven years it has been in existence, the company has raised nearly €115 million from hundreds of investors.

At the end of July, the company announced that it would be suspending loan repayments.

The Eesti Ekspress piece also deals in fairly lurid terms with mental health issues Roosaare reported he had been having in the summer.

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