The court sentenced former SLK board chair Tõnis Rihvk and supervisory board chair Vjatšeslav Leedo to two years and six months of imprisonment, with a probationary period of four years. Lennart Viikmaa was sentenced to one year and six months of imprisonment, with a probationary period of three years.

Grete Kundrats was found guilty of document forgery and aiding in the insolvency of SLK, while AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus was convicted of using a forged document.

Kundrats received a sentence of one year and three months of imprisonment, with a probationary period of two years and six months. The court imposed a financial penalty of €250,000 on AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus, conditional on the company not committing another intentional crime within a two-year probationary period starting from the announcement of the verdict.

The court upheld a civil claim by OÜ Reyna Trade, ordering Leedo, Rihvk and Viikmaa to pay €314,338 jointly and severally, plus interest, to the claimant. Property liens and judicial mortgages established to secure the civil claim remain unchanged until the claim is fulfilled.

Additionally, the court ordered AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus to pay €4.1 million as criminal proceeds, which must be settled within three months of the judgment becoming final.

The Pärnu County Court had previously confiscated assets obtained through criminal acts and imposed judicial mortgages on properties owned by AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus in favor of the Republic of Estonia. Tuesday's ruling left these measures unchanged until the claim for €773,180 is satisfied.

Rihvk, Leedo, Kundrats and AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus were ordered to pay procedural costs of €6,197.15, while Viikmaa must pay €18,462.20.

The court concluded that the crimes of bankruptcy fraud, document forgery and use of forged documents were proven as described in the charges. The court noted that all four acts were interconnected and aimed at causing SLK's insolvency.

The defendants committed these acts deliberately to deepen SLK's insolvency and ensure that creditors' claims remained unsatisfied. In determining the sentences, the court considered the reasonable duration of the proceedings, prevailing judicial practices and the fact that the defendants had no prior convictions and have not committed any new offenses.

Rihvk was charged as an SLK board member with causing SLK's insolvency (through share transactions, the sale of subsidiaries, pledging shares and acknowledging a guarantee claim) and forging a guarantee document.

Leedo was charged as an SLK supervisory board member with causing SLK's insolvency (through share transactions, the sale of subsidiaries, pledging shares and acknowledging a guarantee claim). He was also charged with aiding insolvency (share transactions, acknowledging a guarantee claim), assisting in forging a guarantee document and using a forged guarantee document.

Viikmaa was charged as an SLK supervisory board member with causing SLK's insolvency (share transactions, the sale of subsidiaries, pledging shares) and aiding insolvency (share transactions).

Kundrats was accused of forging a guarantee document and aiding in SLK's insolvency (acknowledging a guarantee claim on behalf of SLK).

AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus was accused of using a forged guarantee document.

The verdict is not final. None of the defendants were present at the announcement of the judgment.

Damage to Saaremaa Laevakompanii

According to the charges, in early 2016, €4 million was initially extracted from SLK when the company purchased shares in AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus for over €5 million, despite the prosecution stating that their fair value was approximately €1 million.

In the summer of the same year, SLK established four new private limited companies to which it transferred ownership of four ferries. These companies were then sold entirely to a business controlled by AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus. According to the charges, these transactions were neither economically justifiable nor necessary for SLK, further damaging the company's financial standing.

The prosecution also alleges that in early 2018, Vjatšeslav Leedo orchestrated the creation of a new private limited company under his control, in favor of which SLK pledged its shares in AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus. The new company was also granted the right to dispose of the pledged shares. The prosecution claims this pledge was not in SLK's interests and was intended to complicate creditor claims in the event of SLK's bankruptcy.

Additionally, the charges state that in the spring of 2018, with Leedo's approval, a guarantee letter was forged bearing the date 2006. The letter falsely indicated that SLK had issued a guarantee of 300 million Estonian kroons (€19.2 million) to AS Saare Finants (the legal successor of AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus) to cover obligations to OÜ Narva-Line. AS Holostovi Kinnisvarahaldus then used this forged guarantee letter to file a claim against SLK, which the county court approved, ordering SLK to pay €18.9 million.

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