Estonia's government security commission on Tuesday accused Tallin Mayor Edgar Savisaar of asking Russia to finance his opposition party.
A spokesman for the Estonian government said the accusations were based on information provided by the Estonian security police (KaPo), which allegedly prevented Savisaar from obtaining the money.
Savisaar, who leads the opposition Center Part was accused last week of receiving $1.5 million from Moscow to "increase Russia's influence in Estonia."
This was the exact sum spent on the construction of a Russian Orthodox church in the Estonian capital's most populated Lasnamae district, the local Postimees newspaper said.
The Tallinn mayor denied the allegations, saying they were an attempt to discredit his Center Party ahead of parliamentary elections in March 2011.
Savisaar's party is the second largest in the Estonian parliament and enjoys the support of the country's Russian-speaking community. In December 2004, the party signed a cooperation agreement with Russia's pro-Kremlin United Russia party.
TALLINN, December 21 (RIA Novosti)
