However two critics of the bill in its current form who ERR spoke to were both from parties belonging to the Reform-SDE-Eesti 200 coalition.

Reform Party MP Valdo Randpere, a member of the Riigikogu's Legal Affairs Committee is one of the most vocal critics of the amendment.

Randpere told ERR: "It raises questions. Currently, only the Internal Security Service and the Central Criminal Police are permitted to conduct surveillance on sanction-related crimes."

"Now, giving the MTA a general wiretapping authority just as a result of these crimes is akin to using an artillery piece to kill a mosquito. The confidentiality of communication is protected by the Estonian Constitution. Giving surveillance powers to yet another agency is, in my view, wrong. I believe it is dangerous to widen this authority."

Randpere also pointed out that this is not the first time the MTA has sought such powers.

He said: "The MTA has been requesting wiretapping authority for about 20 years now, but they have always been denied that."

He added: "The Environmental Board (Keskonnaamet) has also received similar rejections."

Randpere noted that he would be less opposed if the MTA were two separate agencies, ie. one for taxation and one for customs duties.

He said: "I would be less averse to giving this authority to the customs board, because the need for it is greater there."

Ando Kiviberg (Eesti 200), another member of the Legal Affairs Committee and also from a coalition party, too, expressed concerns about how the expansion of MTA's powers was introduced at what he called a late stage.

Kiviberg told ERR: "The concern had been that one issue was being addressed under the guise of solving another. Rationalizing the division of labor is a good idea, since the ISS should not have to deal with smuggling at the border. However, it came as a surprise to the members of the committee that the MTA wanted to push through the surveillance issue within the same bill. Another aspect was appended to the proposal."

The amendment to the national Penal Code would assign full judicial pre-investigation authority for trade sanctions violations, including those imposed on Russia, to the MTA.

Following the approval, the Ministry of Finance added in to the bill the MTA's request to expand the list of authorized surveillance activities.

Under the proposed legislation, the MTA would gain the right to secretly monitor or intercept information and use law enforcement agencies to do so.

Under current law, after obtaining permission from a court or prosecutor, the MTA must turn to the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) or the Internal Security Service (ISS, known in Estonian as the Kapo) to request the carrying out of these operations.

One justification put forward for the amendment is to reduce the workload of both agencies.

The amendment does not alter existing legal safeguards, proponents say.

It also does not expand the list of crimes in whose investigation surveillance operations can be used.

It also does not simplify the process of obtaining surveillance warrants. These will still only be issued under the existing rules and upon the authorization from a prosecutor or a court.

Surveillance operations would remain strictly prohibited in tax proceedings under the bill. Such operations cannot be used for gathering evidence, determining tax obligations, or enforcing tax collection in administrative procedures.

The Ministry of Finance has argued that MTA currently depends on other agencies for surveillance operations, something which sometimes delays necessary investigations.

In a memo to the Riigikogu's Legal Affairs Committee, the ministry stated: "Restructuring agency operations in such a way that MTA has independent authority to conduct surveillance significantly reduces bureaucratic inefficiencies and ensures a faster and more effective criminal procedure."

However the Chancellor of Justice has raised concerns going back to 2015, noting that it is inefficient and legally problematic for non-specialized agencies to conduct a significant proportion of MTA's surveillance-related work.

The bill is currently under review at the Ministry of Justice and is expected to return to the legal affairs committee within a matter of weeks, possibly in an amended form.

There remains no coalition consensus on how to proceed, however. Kiviberg has called for greater transparency, arguing that "a separate legislative development plan should be created so that everyone understands what is being proposed, for what reason, and who by."

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