Estonian Prime Minister resigns after corruption scandal

Ratas, who served as prime minister for four years, posted a letter of resignation on his Facebook page.

“In politics, to resolve difficult situations, you have to make very difficult choices. Today, in accordance with my values, I have made the decision to resign as Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia. This decision was made after consultations with the board and the faction of the Center Party, as well as with close colleagues. Various solutions seemed possible, but only one of them is correct", - Kommersant quotes Ratas's statement.

He assured voters that as prime minister he “did not make harmful or deliberately erroneous decisions,” and also clarified that the country's prosecutor general and the head of police have no complaints against him.

According to Ratas, after his resignation, the government coalition will cease to exist. Thus, not only the prime minister, but the entire government of Estonia will resign.

As clarifies Interfax, on the eve of the Estonian ruling party Center, which is headed by Ratas, as well as five citizens were charged with corruption.

“The secretary general of the party Mikhail Korb, adviser to the Minister of Finance Kersti Krakht, businessman Hillar Teder were under suspicion. The names of two more suspects have not yet been announced”, - the news agency said.

According to media reports, the Secretary General of the Estonian Center Party, Mikhail Korb, agreed with businessman Hillar Teder on a large donation (up to a million euros) for the needs of the party on the eve of the elections. For this, Porto Franco, owned by Teder, received a loan of € 40 million from the KredEx fund of the Ministry of Economy. In addition, Tedera and Krakht are suspected of a money laundering agreement to cover up the transfer of a bribe.