Liisa Pakosta, the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, said in the program 'Otse uudistemajast' that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) should belong to the Police and Border Guard Board. This would allow for civilian oversight over the bureau.
In March, it became clear that the Ministry of Finance is amending the draft law on combating money laundering. Now, the FIU informs the person whose bank account data it has collected after five years. However, Pakosta has a different understanding than Jürgen Ligi.
Pakosta said that the FIU's work should be reorganized. 'First, the FIU should become an investigative body. It must meet the requirements of a rule of law state and must be subject to civilian oversight,' said Pakosta.
The FIU was separated from the police when Martin Helme was the Minister of Finance. Since then, the bureau has operated without civilian oversight because it is not an investigative body. 'We have civilian oversight over the Security Police. It is regulated, but there is no such oversight for the FIU,' said Pakosta.
Pakosta wants the FIU to be merged back with the police. 'If someone wants to be an investigative body, it must be created or merged with the police. My preference would be for the FIU to work under the police,' she said.
However, there is no consensus in the government on this issue. Pakosta could not say when or if such a change would take place. The FIU has belonged to the Ministry of Finance since 2021.
Jürgen Ligi, the Minister of Finance, disagreed with Pakosta's position. He said that Pakosta's claims are based on misconceptions. Ligi found that the state has oversight over the FIU. 'It still belongs to the administration of the Ministry of Finance,' he said.
Ligi said that the FIU is not a 'law enforcement agency' and that the Riigikogu committee deals with it. 'The FIU works more effectively under the Ministry of Finance than under the police,' said Ligi.