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Lauri Laats Autor\/allikas: Ken M\u00fcrk\/ERR<\/p>\nLiina Vahtras, who has just become minister of economic affairs and industry, previously served on the management board of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS) and also sat on the board of Rochna Invest O\u00dc \u2014 a company whose portfolio startups received a total of \u20ac1.25 million in support from EIS during the same period. Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Vahtras acted in accordance with the rules because she did not take part in making the funding decisions.<\/p>\n
Vahtras, who took her oath of office before the Riigikogu on Wednesday, had been head of EIS’s e\u2011residency program since 2023 and became a member of EIS’s management board last summer.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Lauri Laats, chair of the Center Party’s parliamentary group, contacted Prime Minister Kristen Michal, arguing that Vahtras had a conflict of interest while serving on EIS’s board.<\/p>\n
Laats pointed out that after being appointed to EIS’s board, Vahtras continued as the sole management board member of Rochna Invest O\u00dc, a position she had held since June 2023.<\/p>\n
Owned by a Cyprus-registered company<\/p>\n
“Rochna Invest O\u00dc is wholly owned by Rochna Holdings Ltd, a Cyprus\u2011registered company whose beneficial owner is listed as entrepreneur Timo Rein. Rochna Invest holds stakes in several Estonian startups,” Laats said.<\/p>\n
According to Laats, publicly available information shows that Vahtras’s term on EIS’s board overlapped with a period during which EIS awarded roughly \u20ac1.25 million in support to companies in Rochna Invest’s portfolio.<\/p>\n
The largest single grant \u2014 slightly more than \u20ac454,000 \u2014 went to Bisly O\u00dc in October of last year. Antegenes O\u00dc and Bidrent O\u00dc received a combined \u20ac803,665 from EIS during the same period.<\/p>\n
Lauri Laats Autor\/allikas: Ken M\u00fcrk\/ERR<\/p>\n
Laats noted that although EIS says Vahtras did not participate in deciding these grants and had declared her connection to Rochna Invest, the situation raises the question of whether formally recusing oneself from specific decisions is sufficient to avoid conflicts of interest \u2014 or whether the public sector must also consider the appearance of a conflict, trustworthiness, and transparency in decision\u2011making.<\/p>\n
“It is especially important given that the minister of economic affairs and industry is responsible, among other things, for entrepreneurship and innovation policy, and oversees EIS \u2014 the same institution whose management board Liina Vahtras belonged to before becoming minister,” the MP added.<\/p>\n
According to Laats, it is reasonable to ask whether a person who, while serving on the board of a state agency distributing business support, simultaneously led a private investment company whose portfolio firms received significant public funding from that same agency, can now carry out the duties of the minister responsible for the sector without raising concerns about the possible intertwining of private and public interests.<\/p>\n
Vahtras to leave Rochna Invest board<\/p>\n
Liina Vahtras told ERR that she declared her connection to Rochna Invest O\u00dc to EIS in accordance with the rules in force there.<\/p>\n
“I was a member of Rochna Invest’s management board, but I did not hold any ownership in the company, nor did I receive board\u2011member compensation or any other income from it,” she said.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Vahtras noted that Rochna Invest O\u00dc itself has not received any support from EIS, as the grants went to three companies in which Rochna Invest holds small minority stakes: 2.07 percent in Antegenes O\u00dc, 4.87 percent in Bidrent O\u00dc, and 1.83 percent in Bisly O\u00dc.<\/p>\n
“Rochna’s stakes in these companies do not mean that I was a shareholder or a member of their governing bodies,” the minister of economic affairs said.<\/p>\n
She added that she did not take part in processing or deciding on grants related to companies connected to Rochna Invest, and that awarding such grants did not fall under her area of responsibility as an EIS board member. Vahtras said she would leave the Rochna Invest board at the earliest opportunity.<\/p>\n
“Leaving a board does not happen as quickly everywhere as it does in Estonia; I expect the change will be formalized no later than next week,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Kristen Michal. Source: Ken M\u00fcrk\/ERR<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said at the government’s press conference that after the issue reached the media, Vahtras sent him an overview explaining that she had acted in accordance with the rules.<\/p>\n
“In such cases, two things are always important: first, if a person has any involvement in any business while serving as a decision\u2011maker in the public sector, it must be declared. And I understand that this was declared,” the prime minister said. “Second, the person must not participate in making those decisions, and that was indeed the case \u2014 she did not take part in those decisions.”<\/p>\n
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