The investigation concluded at Tallinn University of Technology found that the accusations made in newspaper Postimees concerning the OGI project of the Ragnar Nurkse Department were unfounded. This university's internal investigation committee and the Council's audit committee reached the conclusions unanimously. Tallinn University of Technology terminates the internal investigation concerning the Nurkse case.
On Friday, 8 November, the Council of Tallinn University of Technology heard the reports of the internal investigation committee and the Council's audit committee (members: Martti Talgre (chairman), Ülo Jaaksoo, Vaiko Tammeväli, Laur Hiob) on the accusations made in Postimees concerning the offences allegedly committed at Nurkse Department.
The audit committee found no evidence to support the allegations, including deception, forgery, corruption, fraud or benefit fraud, though it did identify a number of violations of university regulations, and made recommendations on how to avoid these in future. All members of the audit committee arrived at unanimous conclusions, there were no dissenting opinions.
Based on the discussions the Council decided to terminate the investigation of the accusations made in newspaper Postimees and conclude that the facts of the alleged violations have been examined with sufficient reliability. It was also said that the university will continue to cooperate fully and openly with all relevant external parties.
“I acknowledge the investigation committee and the Council's audit committee for their thorough work in investigating all the facts and for their recommendations on how to improve the management of research projects and ensure more effective oversight over the projects," said Chairman of the Council of Tallinn University of Technology Gunnar Okk.
"The university has learned an important lesson from Nurkse case, which gives the university an opportunity to improve its operations. I am deeply disappointed that during the investigations, which started from a seemingly sincere act of whistleblowing, the whistleblower refused full cooperation with the university's investigation committee and the Council's audit committee," Rector of Tallinn University of Technology Jaak Aaviksoo said.
The whistleblower refused, via his representative sworn advocate Paul Keres, to hand over all the materials at his disposal to the investigation committee and the Council's audit committee. The investigation indicated that Keegan McBride was not acting in good faith and has not met the loyalty obligations contained within the Employment Contracts Act.