A law firm which was set to represent Estonia in money laundering hearings in the United States is claiming â¬60,000 from the Estonian state, following the scrapping of the controversial deal. The finance ministry is reportedly disputing the claim, as well as those on outstanding invoices.
Former finance minister Martin Helme (EKRE) signed a deal with the firm Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan, whose leading partner, Louis Freeh, was a former FBI chief, last summer.
The deal almost immediately hit the headlines since the firm had previously represented Russian clients themselves involved in money laundering, some of the proceeds of which were thought to have passed through the portals of the now-defunct Danske Bank, the very focal point of money laundering allegations which had prompted the hiring of Freeh s firm.