Key officials stay silent on how Estonia reached failed Datasel deal

Key officials who held senior defence positions in 2024 have not explained how Estonia established contact with Datasel, an Italy-registered company owned by Indian businessmen that failed to fulfil a nearly 70 million euro contract to produce artillery shells, ERR reports.

The connection with Datasel was established in spring 2024. Hanno Pevkur was defence minister at the time, Kusti Salm was secretary general of the Ministry of Defence, Magnus-Valdemar Saar led the State Defence Investment Centre, and Tiina Uudeberg was the ministry’s deputy secretary general for defence planning.

At special parliamentary committee meetings last week, current defence officials said the State Defence Investment Centre, known by its Estonian initials RKIK, was responsible for the deal. The organisation has since undergone substantial staff changes.

At a press conference on Monday, RKIK’s current leadership was unable to explain how contact with Datasel had been established. RKIK Director General Elmar Vaher has previously said that responsibility for the failed shell deal lies with the organisation’s former head.

Saar told ERR that the contact came through high-level international cooperation but declined to name the people involved.

“Such direct contacts are generally not documented or publicly disclosable,” Saar said. He added that there are usually various alternative ways to check suppliers’ backgrounds and that Datasel had demonstrably been an affiliated company of a listed company.

Other officials who held key defence posts at the time have also offered few details or declined to comment.

Pevkur, who is still formally serving as defence minister and has announced his resignation, said he did not know how officials had reached Datasel.

ERR has been unable to obtain comment from Salm, who led the Ministry of Defence initiative called “One Million Shells for Ukraine”. Salm announced his departure as secretary general in summer 2024, saying the state had failed to take essential decisions to increase its ammunition reserves.

Uudeberg told ERR that she had been away from the defence sector for a long time and knew no more about the contract than what she had read in the media.

Estonia wanted to purchase shells for Ukraine and paid the company 60 million euros in advance. The company had not previously sold a single shell. The goods delivered failed to meet requirements, and the dispute is now before the courts.