Estonia’s most prestigious award for investigative journalism, the Bonnier Prize, went this year to journalists of Delfi Meedia, who reported on the misuse of donations made to the charitable organization Slava Ukraini, and to journalists of public broadcaster ERR, who uncovered the transport operations of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’ husband’s company to Russia during the war in Ukraine.
The articles published by ERR triggered the so-called “eastbound transport scandal.” On Aug. 23, an article by Aleksander Krjukov titled “Company partly owned by prime minister’s husband continues transports to Russia” was published. This was followed by an article by Madis Hindre titled “Kallas: I do not conduct my husband’s business” and one by Karin Koppel highlighting that “Arvo Hallik is not planning to divest his share in Stark Warehousing”.
A series of articles in the daily Eesti Paevaleht and weekly Eesti Ekspress brought to light the intricate details of a donation scandal in the Slava Ukraini non-profit organization. These pieces showed the flow of funds, detailing the beneficiaries, methods, and amounts involved. Authored by Holger Roonemaa, Herman Kelomees, Matthias Kalev, Anna Morunjuk, and Martin Laine, the articles such as “Wealthy deputy mayor of Lviv, a nail technician, and Estonia’s ‘Person of the Year'”, “Secret of Slava Ukraini’s one million euros”,”Someone needs to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t rob good people blind,” and “How under Johanna-Maria Lehtme’s management, Slava Ukraini’s charity became a business” were published from April 15 to 19.
Source: BNS
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