Kalle Grünthal faces court over alleged fuel card embezzlement

Estonian parliament member Kalle Grünthal appeared in court on Monday after the State Prosecutor’s Office accused him of embezzling more than 3,000 euros, ERR reported.

According to prosecutors, evidence gathered during the pretrial investigation indicates that Grünthal abused taxpayer property entrusted to him by allowing third parties to use fuel cards for the benefit of his family members.

Parliament members may use fuel cards issued by the parliament’s administrative office only to purchase fuel needed for official duties, prosecutors said. The indictment alleges that Grünthal repeatedly used two fuel cards for personal purposes in 2023 by giving them to family members.

According to the indictment, fuel worth slightly more than 3,000 euros was purchased for personal use on at least 46 occasions.

In October 2023, Äripäev reported that Grünthal had filled his car with both petrol and diesel five minutes apart. Eesti Ekspress later reported that his fuel card had been used while the politician was working in the parliament chamber.

After the allegations became public, Grünthal left the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia, known as EKRE. Henn Põlluaas, who was the party’s deputy chairman at the time, said the EKRE parliamentary faction had unanimously decided to expel him.

EKRE chairman Martin Helme and Põlluaas also said they believed Grünthal should leave parliament. He nevertheless remained there as an unaffiliated member.