Pevkurs is accepting political responsibility for his decisions made within the defence administration. He had held the post since 2022. The dispute concerns contracts arranged by Estonia’s Centre for Defence Investments, known as RKIK, for artillery shells to be sent to Ukraine. The procurement included substantial advance payments to companies without an established record of producing or selling the ammunition concerned, as the Italian company Datasel SRL, owned by India’s Neco Defence Munitions, hadn’t previously produced artillery shells.
An initial payment of approximately €15 million was made in August 2024, while the value of advances across the disputed arrangements reached about €70 million.
The money came through the European Peace Facility, the EU mechanism used to reimburse member states for military support supplied to Ukraine. The use of European funds adds another layer of scrutiny to a case already being examined by Estonia’s parliament, auditors and law-enforcement authorities.
Pevkur said he had not read the individual contracts. He nevertheless acknowledged that senior officials at RKIK had brought the arrangements to his attention in broad terms. The agency’s former director-general, Magnus-Valdemar Saar, has said the ministry’s political leadership knew about the procurement.
The state is now pursuing the return of money through legal proceedings.
