On May 15th, Maarin Ektermann received a call from the bank. The call was about the Estonian Artists' Union (EKL). It was said that suspicious transactions had been made from the union's accounts. These transactions occurred through the chief accountant.
Ektermann spoke at a press conference. She stated that EKL has accounts at Swedbank and SEB. The fraud affected both banks and all accounts.
The fraudsters took nearly 700,000 euros. This money was a targeted funding from the Ministry of Culture. The funds were supposed to be used for paying artist salaries and other grants.
The damage was identified, and a report was made to the police. The investigation was initiated by the North Prefecture. The criminal case is being led by the North District Prosecutor's Office.
The chief accountant of EKL has been suspended from duties. They are cooperating to resolve the situation.
Ektermann mentioned that salaries will be paid. The creative grants had already been paid before the fraud. EKL has 20 recipients of artist salaries and nearly 30 recipients of creative grants.
The fraudsters contacted the chief accountant on May 7th. They claimed to be Omniva employees. The fraudsters alleged they had sent a letter to the union's former president.
The fraudsters exploited the goodwill of the chief accountant. They asked for PIN codes and installed remote control software on the computer.
Subsequently, there were calls allegedly from the police. The fraudsters stated it was a secret operation. They requested to provide PIN codes and conceal it from others.
Real police never demand the installation of software on a computer or involve in secret operations.
Swedbank notified the police on May 15th. The police went to EKL. The fraudsters had already taken large sums.
The money was transferred to accounts in five foreign countries. The police consider the prospect of recovering it to be low.