ELA USA Ltd filed the lawsuit in 2018, demanding over €200 million in damages. The company said it should have had the right to continue its timber processing and cargo transport business at the harbor.

After the restoration of Estonia's independence in 1991, Russian military forces remained in the country until 1994. During this period of confusion, documents were drawn up transferring the Seaplane Harbor to companies connected to the Russian military.

Later, these companies changed hands and eventually ended up with firms linked to Aleksander Rotko.

The state regained its rights to the Seaplane Harbor in 2006 after a long legal battle. In 2012, the harbor was opened as a museum. Rotko did not accept the court's decision, moved to the United States, and initiated international arbitration proceedings against the Estonian state, accusing it of discrimination and persecution of investors.

The tribunal found that Estonia had acted legally and that the harbor property had been illegally transferred to private companies. The court confirmed that there had been no violation of investor rights or discrimination by the Estonian state, and that ELA could not have reasonably expected illegally obtained rights to remain valid, the ministry reported.

The decision brings an end to a legal dispute over the Seaplane Harbor that has lasted more than 30 years. The Estonian state was represented in the international arbitration by the law firm Ellex Raidla.

"This summer marks 31 years since the departure of Russian occupation forces from Estonia. It's quite absurd that we still have to deal with the consequences of the last-minute scheming of the occupation army and prove our rights. But rights must be defended, even if it takes decades. My sincere thanks go to everyone who has defended the ownership of the Seaplane Harbour over the years," said Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200).

In 2018, the government approved the allocation of €810,000 from the government reserve to enable the Ministry of Justice to represent the Estonian state in the arbitration dispute. In July of that year, the ministry signed a contract with the law firm Ellex Raidla, with an estimated cost of €660,000. The remaining €150,000 went toward a deposit to the arbitration tribunal.

In 2005, Ministry of Justice spokesperson Tiina Urm told BNS that the disputed land had belonged to the state even before the Soviet occupation began, and that at the end of the occupation period, plots used by the Soviet military base were sold by Soviet officers to companies, which, according to the landholders, later sold the property to firms associated with [BPV director] Aleksander Rotko.

AS BPV also intended to establish a customs control zone on the disputed Seaplane Harbour territory, but this plan was not realized due to opposition from the Ministry of Justice.

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