Unknown officials have been extensively reviewing the bank accounts of private individuals and businesses over an extended period via the unified enforcement register, with the justification for these actions remaining completely unclear. Is this an attempt to combat crime or another episode of anti-Russian espionage hysteria?
Chancellor of Justice Julle Madise has condemned the situation as unacceptable. In a recent proposal to the Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs, Madise called for urgent reforms to implement effective oversight mechanisms governing the use of the enforcement register. Since January 2023, state agencies have been actively utilizing the register to access sensitive banking information, often without clear legal safeguards.
“Banking secrecy, including client account statements, is protected under the Credit Institutions Act,” Madise reminded. “Given that bank transactions contain highly confidential personal information, access must be strictly regulated. Unfortunately, this is currently not the case.”
According to Madise, from January 2023 through February 2024, tens of thousands of requests for banking data were sent by various state bodies. These include the Tax and Customs Board, Security Police, Foreign Intelligence Service, Police and Border Guard Board, and the Money Laundering Prevention Bureau. However, it remains unknown how many of these requests pertain to individuals versus corporate accounts.
Madise also highlighted a critical legal gap: the unified enforcement register itself operates without a formal statute. There are no established rules detailing how the register is maintained, what data it contains, how information is processed, or who may access it.
Prominent Estonian lawyer Karri Ginter described the revelations as deeply troubling in a social media post. “The Riigikogu’s (the Parliament) role is to protect our fundamental rights from abuse by the executive branch,” he wrote. “Instead, we hear statements like ‘the police are blind.’ Is there anyone left who feels any sense of responsibility?”
Ginter cited statistics from the Chancellor’s oversight report showing that between January 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025, tens of thousands of account statements were requested through the register. Specifically, the Tax and Customs Board made over 6,000 requests; the Police and Border Guard Board submitted more than 30,000; and the Money Laundering Prevention Bureau nearly 2,000. Requests from the Security Police and Foreign Intelligence Service were also recorded but not quantified.
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