Estonia's Tartu County Court found 48-year-old Vyacheslav Efimov, a dual Estonian and Russian citizen, guilty in a settlement proceeding. He was convicted of transmitting information damaging to Estonia's national security and bribery.
According to the prosecution, Efimov collaborated with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) for several years while working at the Koidula checkpoint. He transmitted information about the checkpoint's operations, personnel, and infrastructure, and also monitored the movements of drones and military equipment in the border zone. The prosecutor's office insisted that even publicly available information could be valuable if requested by a foreign intelligence service.
He was also charged with bribery: between March and November 2024, he handed a checkpoint employee three times a total of at least 150 euros to allow his acquaintances' trucks to clear border control ahead of the queue.
The court sentenced him to a combined three-year prison term. The plea bargain sentence has not yet entered into force and can be appealed until January 29, 2026.
This case continues a series of trials in Estonia, where charges of "cooperating with foreign intelligence services" are increasingly being brought against individuals with dual citizenship or ties to Russia, including for the transfer of data that could be publicly disclosed.
According to the prosecution, Efimov collaborated with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) for several years while working at the Koidula checkpoint. He transmitted information about the checkpoint's operations, personnel, and infrastructure, and also monitored the movements of drones and military equipment in the border zone. The prosecutor's office insisted that even publicly available information could be valuable if requested by a foreign intelligence service.
He was also charged with bribery: between March and November 2024, he handed a checkpoint employee three times a total of at least 150 euros to allow his acquaintances' trucks to clear border control ahead of the queue.
The court sentenced him to a combined three-year prison term. The plea bargain sentence has not yet entered into force and can be appealed until January 29, 2026.
This case continues a series of trials in Estonia, where charges of "cooperating with foreign intelligence services" are increasingly being brought against individuals with dual citizenship or ties to Russia, including for the transfer of data that could be publicly disclosed.