Estonia

Estonia

The Estonian Desk is headed by Piret Paukštys, who is the National Member for Estonia since March 2023.

In 2023, the Estonian Desk was involved in 117 new cases, 27 coordination meetings, 2 coordination centres, and 11 joint investigation teams.

National Member

Piret Paukštys
Piret Paukštys

National Member

Piret Paukštys was appointed National Member for Estonia in March 2023. Ms Paukštys joined the Office of the Estonian Prosecutor General in 1999, where she worked at the Appeal and Supreme Court levels. From 2004 until 2017, she specialised in the prosecution of economic, financial and cybercrime cases, such as tax crimes, money laundering and market manipulation.

Since 2017, Ms Paukštys has been dealing with international cooperation matters, including the handling of European Arrest Warrants, European Investigation Orders and Mutual Legal Assistance requests. She has actively participated in the work of nine joint investigation teams supported by Eurojust.

Ms Paukštys graduated in law from the University of Tartu in 1995. Before joining the Office of the Prosecutor General, she worked as a public prosecutor in Tartu and as a lawyer for the local governments of Tartu and Viljandi. She also worked for a private law firm between 1998 and 1999.

Assistant to the National Member

Ms Mari Vunk is Assistant to the National Member for Estonia since February 2024. She is residing in Estonia. She is a prosecutor working at the Office of the Prosecutor General and specialised for the international judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

Contact the Estonian Desk

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Casework

 

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

New cases (total)
- of which initiating
- of which participating

81
42
39

62
29
33

71
38
33

77
38
39

111
48
63

115
48
67

117
53
64

Coordination meetings (initiating and/or participating)

11

14

13

15

13

15

27

Coordination centres (organising and/or participating)

-

-

-

-

-

1

2

Joint investigation teams (newly signed and/or ongoing)

4

11

15

8

9

8

11


Case examples

JIT into alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine

Joint Investigation Teams - Funded by Eurojust

2 March 2022 - Just six days after the outbreak of full-scale war, Eurojust organises a coordination meeting at the request of the Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian national authorities to discuss the prosecution of alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine.

25 March 2022  - A JIT agreement is signed between the three national authorities, supported by Eurojust and the JITs Network Secretariat.

Up until March 2023, Eurojust hosts 16 coordination meetings of the JIT and other national authorities that are investigating alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine. Prosecutors and investigators from 26 EU Member States and 10 third countries participate to map out the best strategy for the investigation.

25 April 2022 - In its first-ever participation in a JIT, the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court joins as a participant. The JITs Network Secretariat is pivotal in facilitating the cooperation of the ICC which enables rapid and real-time coordination with the JIT partner countries, in connection with investigations conducted by the ICC and competent national authorities.

30 May 2022 - Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia join the JIT.

13 October 2022 - Romania joins as the JIT’s latest member.

2 February 2023 - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announces the establishment of an International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA), to be based at Eurojust.

3 March 2023 - The JIT’s seven national authorities sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Department of Justice to enhance coordination between their respective investigations into the war in Ukraine.

4 March 2023 - During the United for Justice Conference in Lviv, the JIT’s seven partner countries agree to amend the JIT agreement to reflect the future role of the ICPA.

Flags of ET, LV, LT, PL, SK, RO, UA, US, logos of ICC, EU, Eurojust

Takedown of infrastructure of call centres involved in online investment fraud responsible for losses of at least EUR 20 million

Joint Investigation Teams - Funded by Eurojust

Crime: An international OCG commits online investment fraud by convincing victims online and by telephone to make payments to invest in cryptocurrencies. The OCG uses a large-scale IT infrastructure that includes tens of virtual servers, connected by computers in call centres.

The perpetrators install remote access programmes that allow them to illegally access the victims’ computers and steal their banking credentials. More than 30 000 people from around 71 countries (with roughly 522 victims registered in Estonia alone) are defrauded of at least EUR 20 million.

Action: Authorities in Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, France, Germany and Ukraine support a joint operation on 21 April 2022 to disrupt and paralyse the criminal activities of the OCG.

Result: More than 50 servers are seized (taken down and data copied), in Finland, the Netherlands, Latvia, France and Germany.

Eurojust's Role: Eurojust facilitates judicial cooperation by setting up and funding a JIT. Two coordination meetings are organised to coordinate the national investigations and prepare for the action day. To support the action day, Eurojust sets up a coordination centre to enable rapid cooperation between the involved judicial authorities.

Flags of ET, FI, NL, LV, FR, DE, UA, Europol, Eurojust logos