Political crisis in Estonia caused by business activities of the Prime Minister's husband in Russia

Political crisis in Estonia caused by business activities of the Prime Minister's husband in Russia

The husband of Estonian Prime Minister Kai Kallas, Arvo Hallik, owned shares in Stark Logistics, a company that provided services to a company operating in Russia.

After the Estonian public broadcaster reported this, Hallik announced that he would sell his shares.

Arvo Hallik owned shares in Stark Logistics. He was also a member of the company's board of directors. This company provided transport services to another Estonian company, Metaprint. It continues operating in Russia.

Estonian law enforcement officials have stated that Arvo Hallik did not violate the sanctions. At the same time, they do not want to give a moral assessment of his actions. 

The conservative People’s Party (EKRE) is demanding Kallas' resignation.

"The message of EKRE is unequivocal: Kaja Kallas must resign," said party chairman Urmas Reinsalu.

He said that since the beginning of the full-scale war, Hallik's company has provided transport services worth 30 million euros to deliver raw materials to the Russian plant.

At the same time, Kaja Kallas stated that she did not plan to resign from her post.

It is also known that Kaja Kallas provided her husband's company with a loan of 350 thousand euros. The loan was repaid in the summer of 2023. According to the prime minister, Avro Hallik's company Novaria Consult invested the money "in various financial projects."

"We have never discussed the nature of these investments," Kallas said.