Autorollo conviction enters into force as top court rejects appeal
The conviction of Väino Pentus and Siim Roode, who were previously found guilty in two lower-level courts in the criminal case that is commonly referred to as the Autorollo case, entered into force on Tuesday as the Supreme Court of Estonia decided to reject their appeal.
Roode and Pentus' defense lawyers asked the court to find the defendants not guilty. The top court found that there was no basis for accepting their case, however, therefore their conviction entered into force.
The most recent decision in the Autorollo case was made at the beginning of December, when Tallinn Circuit Court slightly modified Harju County Court's decision. Pentus was still found guilty of causing the insolvency of his road haulage company Autorollo, violation of the obligation to maintain accounts, use of a counterfeited document and embezzlement and was handed a conditional sentence of two years in prison with three years of probation.
Roode, who became the de facto manager of the company in 2010, was found guilty of causing insolvency and counterfeiting a document. He was fined 480 daily rates, which translates to €12,230 due to his income as a lawyer, and was banned from business activities for a period of four years.
Pentus was the sole owner and board memer of Autorollo beginning July 28, 2008. On April 26, 2010, Roode became the company's sole owner and de facto manager. According to charges, the company's financial situation was very bad by the time it changed hands, and Roode together with Pentus arranged for the movement of assets out of the business to prevent their sell-off against creditors' claims and free Pentus of a personal guaranty on loans. The removal of assets primarily had to do with the removal of four trucks and 11 trailers from Autorollo's asset list.
According to charges, Autorollo thereby lost title to property worth at least 2.36 million kroons — or €151,000 according to the fixed exchange rate of €1 = 15.65 EEK — but was relieved of obligations worth just 880,000 kroons. Thus, the damage caused to the company by Pentus and Roode amounted to 1.5 million kroons — or €94,000.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS