Corruption of about 769 crore rupees. Citing arms supply to organizations with virtually no experience. There is a strong debate in the small country of Europe, Estonia. Hano Pevkur, the defense minister of that country, was finally forced to resign. He held the post of Defense Minister for almost four years.
Estonia is supplying weapons to Ukraine in the war against Russia. Similarly, the European country quoted 70 million dollars (which is about Rs. 768.50 crore) to an Indian company. But after the deal was concluded, it was learned that the Indian firm that was cited had no prior experience in supplying arms. Estonia signs contract with Datasel SRL to supply artillery shells to Ukraine in 2024. Although this datacell was originally registered in Italy, it was acquired by an Indian company called Neco Defense Munitions in early 2024. It is owned by India's Jaiswal Neco Group.
But later a series of observations by the National Audit Office of Estonia revealed that the Indian company had no prior experience in selling artillery shells. Not only this, this company also failed to deliver artillery shells on time. Initially, the ammunition will reach Ukraine within a few months. But due to production issues there are repeated delays in delivery. Finally in 2025 when Estonia gets the ammunition. There is a question about the quality of that too. Controversy erupted across the country. Defense Minister Hano Pevkur finally resigned due to the controversy. In a message on social media, he said, “The security of the country is not the responsibility of one person. It is our joint responsibility. So today I have to take the overall political responsibility of the defense sector. At the right time, I am handing over the responsibility of the ministry to the Prime Minister.”
Estonia has already canceled the contract with the Indian company. However, before canceling the contract, Estonia paid about Tk 769 crore to the Indian company. The NATO member country has already approached the European Arbitration and Mediation Center to recover this money. Actually, Estonia is a small country near the border of Russia. They are also worried about their national security in the Ukraine war. A loss of Rs 769 crore is also a huge loss for a country with a population of only 12 lakh.