Tarvi Pürn, head of the city's sport department, told ERR: "Yes, it is the case that yesterday evening (Monday – ed.), we extraordinarily terminated the employment relationship. The notice has been served to her. So, as of yesterday, the employment is terminated."

Pürn said that there had been a face-to-face meeting with Glebova, who had so far not responded to media inquiries, and at this meeting the employment termination notice was handed over.

Pürn said his authority did not touch on the case during the meeting, adding the city's decision was likely not a surprise to Glebova, given Mayor of Tallinn Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) had previously publicly called for the employment relationship to be terminated.

According to information ERR has obtained, Glebova's case concerns the links between the Tondiraba Ice Hall and the Olympic IK skating school.

Pürn would neither confirm nor deny that link, noting an agreement in place through the course of the investigation that only the Central Criminal Police case will comment on it.

The city will also take a closer look at various past contracts related to the Tondiraba Ice Hall, Pürn added.

Work at the ice hall is being reorganized so that the deputy director is now acting manager, while the facility itself, which hosted this year's European figure skating championships, is operating as usual. If additional human resources are needed, the city will respond promptly, Pürn said.

Last Thursday, officials from the Central Criminal Police's anti-corruption bureau informed Glebova, as then head of the Tondiraba Ice Hall, that she was under suspicion of violating procedural restrictions and of committing benefit fraud.

According to the initial suspicion, Glebova had made decisions concerning an NGO she was affiliated with and had signed contracts with that NGO for the use of the sports center's halls and sports courts. She is also suspected of fraudulently obtaining benefits, allegedly by providing false information in relation to her coaching work, to the sports training and information foundation (Spordikoolituse ja -Teabe Sihtasutus).

The investigation is in its early stages, and the current suspicion is preliminary, and may change over the course of the proceedings.

Glebova has so far not responded to attempts by ERR to contact her for comment.

Glebova, 35, is a seven-time domestic figure skating champion who represented Estonia at the Winter Olympics three times. She was appointed director of the Tondiraba Ice Hall in June 2014, shortly after retiring from figure skating. Mayor of Tallinn at the time was Edgar Savisaar of the Center Party, and Glebova had joined that party in 2013, ran unsuccessfully at the 2015 Riigikogu elections, and for a short time sat on Tallinn city council while former deputy mayor Vladimir Svet (SDE) was a government minister.

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