Partner Aivar Pilv and Attorney Marko Pilv from the Leadell Pilv firm successfully defended businessman Alexander Kofkin in the Harju County Court.
According to Leadell Pilv, Kofkin was accused of repeatedly bribing former Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar. According to the firm, the court's January 14th decision "closed the case against A. Kofkin because of the expiration of a reasonable amount of time."
According to the firm, "Mr. Kofkin's lawyers repeatedly brought to the attention of the court, in the course of the proceedings before the county court, the breach of the reasonable time requirement in the criminal proceedings against the defendant since February 2011. Previously, the county court had rejected the defense counsel's requests. During the litigation, counsel Aivar Pilv requested the court once again to consider the facts and evidence suggesting a violation of the reasonable time requirement and to formulate its final position in a situation where more than eight years had elapsed since the proceedings began. When the court disagreed with the defense counsel's request, the attorney-at-law asked the court to acquit Mr. Kofkin of his actions for lack of an offense."
"In the in-depth and extensive analysis presented in the defense," Leadell Pilv reported, "the lawyer explained why the evidence and facts gathered during the extremely lengthy criminal proceedings do not support the allegations underlying the charges. As the county court terminated the criminal proceedings against A. Kofkin for violation of the reasonable time requirement, the court did not assess the defense counsel's other statements regarding the absence of the offense in the defendant's activities. The judgment has not entered into force and is subject to appeal following the publication of the reasoned judgment by the court."
