Edgar Savisaar

On 22 September 1995, a tape scandal broke out in Estonia when Edgar Savisaar was accused of secretly recording political consultations with Prime Minister Tiit Vähi and the chairman of the Reform Party, Siim Kallas, after the 1995 parliamentary elections.

The scandal began with audio cassettes found during a search. Conversations between politicians were recorded there. As a result of the tape scandal, the coalition government of KMÜ and the Center Party collapsed and KMÜ chose the Reform Party as a new coalition partner. Savisaar denied the allegations. Vilja Laanaru, Savisaar's assistant at the time, took over the responsibility for recording.[13]

During the events surrounding the Bronze Soldier, Edgar Savisaar spoke out against the removal of the monument and accused Andrus Ansip of deliberate attempts of splitting the Estonian society by provoking the Russian minority.[14] In response to this many government officials and public figures stated distrust and disrespect towards him.[15][16][17]

In relation to his reactions to the Bronze Soldier controversy, the Estonian Patriotic Movement created on 29 April 2007 an online petition website www.mahasavisaar.com to suggest resignation of Savisaar's position as the Mayor of Tallinn.[18][19] It ended on 9 May 2007 and had collected 98,200 e-mail addresses (not signatures, although organizers of petition claimed so). In 2009 being a candidate for EP elections collected 103506 votes in closed list system.

On 10–11 May 2010, Edgar Savisaar and Vladimir Velman, a member of the Riigikogu Central Group, visited Moscow, where the visit of Vladimir Jakunin, the head of the Russian Railways, to Estonia was agreed.

On 23-24 Vladimir Jakunin's visit to Estonia took place in June. On the morning of 24 June, a boat trip was organized for the guests in the Gulf of Tallinn. During the amusement ride, Jakunin informed Borodich, who had also come to Estonia, of the fact that "the requested three will not be received, but will be 1.5".

During the cultural program, they visited the Kiltsi manor complex in Lääne-Virumaa. In the manor complex, Edgar Savisaar, Denis Borodich, Vladimir Bushushev, Sergei Petrov and Vladimir Yakunin separated for a conversation. During the conversation, Jakunin said that 1.5 million euros will be given to the Center Party to support the Estonian parliamentary elections. 1/3 of it is given in cash, 2/3 by transfer invoices. Jakunin also reminded all participants that no one should talk about the transaction anywhere. During the conversation, Petrov on the one hand and Borodich on the other were appointed the persons responsible for the transfer and legalization of money.

On 13 September, during the visit of Edgar Savisaar and Denis Borodich to Moscow, a dinner was held at the residence of the Russian Railways, which was attended by Yakunin, Bushushev, Borodich and Savisaar. Several topics were discussed during the dinner. Among other things, the following were discussed: the financing of the Lasnamäe church, the course of the church's construction work, the timing of the various stages of the construction work in connection with the forthcoming Riigikogu elections, their connection to the elections; how can Russia, at the official level, by sending its representatives, support the holding of the Congress of Rural People organized by the Center Party in Estonia. In addition to the above, the financing scheme of the Center Party was also discussed at dinner. Edgar Savisaar confirmed what was agreed in Kiltsi manor: 1/3 in cash and 2/3 by transfer, admitting that paying the entire amount in cash would also be solvable. Subsequently, Jakunin demanded full respect in future dealings with each other, referring to his long-term operational experience. The requirement was a total ban on the use of telephones to discuss the allocation of funds, to arrange meetings and on other sensitive issues.

During a conversation with KAPO on 3 November, Savisaar's attention was drawn to the possibility of complicity with him and the party related to asking for money from abroad and to the resulting security threats. On 4 November, KAPO officials conducted a similar conversation with Borodich, who had been on holiday so far. On 6 November 2010, a telephone conversation took place between Savisaar and Jakunin, where the need to sign a tripartite agreement to legalize money allocated for the support of Lasnamäe Church and to prevent a possible scandal was discussed. On 26 November 2010, the financing agreement for Lasnamäe Church was signed. To this end, Vladimir Bushuev arrived in Tallinn from Moscow, accompanied by an agreement signed by the President of the Andrei Pervozvanny Foundation, Sergei Shcheblygin, in Moscow. Jevgeni Tomberg collected the signatures of the agreement from the representatives of the Tallinn City Government and MPEÕK. The next day, Mayor Edgar Savisaar presented the agreement to the Tallinn City Government.[20][21]

On 17 July 2015, Estonian Internal Security Service launched a criminal investigation on Savisaar and six others in relation to bribery allegations. He is suspected of accepting bribes with a value of hundreds of thousands of euros in 2014 and 2015 on behalf of himself and Estonian Centre Party.[22] It was later revealed that Savisaar was also suspected of corruption and money laundering.[23] Because of the ongoing investigation, Savisaar was suspended from mayor's office on 30 September 2015.[24] His original trial commenced in Harju County Court in June 2017.[25] The county court ended the proceedings in June 2018 due to Savisaar's medical condition,[26] however in August a higher circuit court ordered the trial to resume.[27] In December 2018, the Supreme Court of Estonia annulled the ruling of the circuit court, thus releasing Savisaar from criminal proceedings.[28]

After Jüri Ratas formed a coalition government with EKRE, scandals started to follow due to statements and actions made and done by the then-party leader and Interior Minister Mart Helme and his son Martin Helme. After being asked to comment on EKRE, Savisaar deflected to the media and accused the news media of stirring up controversy against EKRE, saying "Too much damage is being done to EKRE".[29]

For the 2021 Estonian municipal elections, Savisaar joined an electoral alliance called Vaba Eesti (Free Estonia) which had been accused of being anti-vaccination in its platform. Savisaar rejected the attacks, however, saying on Facebook "In my opinion, they are not some kind of anti-vaccine party, but they have a wide platform, starting with Estonia's internal affairs and ending with their attitude towards the European Union. I'm vaccinated and happy with that. But I am opposed to it being forced with dismissal from work. I hope that the problem of vaccination will remain temporary. The loss of human freedoms is a more far-reaching threat". The statement was slammed by people from his old Centre Party as well as other parties, with one of his previously closest allies Priit Toobal saying in September on his Facebook page "The electoral alliance you have been dragged into is not serious. Even on April 3 that you posted a snippet of text and a video clip right here on Facebook, where you can't rule out that vaccination should have been introduced, but now you're in the same room with the anti-vaxxers".