This press release published on Medium was not co-signed by Helen Hindpere, the screenwriter of the game, the third important member who left the studio after the change of shareholders. Nevertheless, Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov declare that their dismissal was carried out without reason, and that the change of shareholders was concluded fraudulently. The two accomplices therefore attack those whom they consider to be responsible for these wrongs in court.
Here is a version translated by us:
“To Disco Elysium fans, regarding the situation at ZA/UM (by Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov)
We are Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov – the Game Director and Art Director of Disco Elysium. Our involvement in gaming takes the form of minority stakes in an Estonian company called Zaum Studio OÜ, which owns everything related to gaming. The majority of shares in this company were initially held by Margus Linnamäe, a businessman and investor Estonian who provided the initial capital. In 2021, Linnamäe was taken over by another minority shareholder, an Estonian company Tütreke OÜ. Tütreke OÜ is owned by two Estonian businessmen – Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel.
As minority shareholders, our rights are limited. As long as Linnamäe remained the majority shareholder, we were confident that the company’s finances were in order and that all shareholders were treated equally. The same cannot be said for Kompus and Haavel. As soon as they became majority shareholders, we were quickly shut out of day-to-day operations, our employment was terminated, and our access to company information was cut off. Our dismissal came a few weeks after we started asking for documents and financial data, which are still hidden from us.
We have now learned that Tütreke OÜ must have obtained control of Zaum Studio OÜ fraudulently. We believe that the money used by Tütreke OÜ to buy the majority of shares was illegally taken from Zaum Studio OÜ itself, money that belonged to the studio and all shareholders but was used for the benefit of only one. Money that should have been used for the realization of the sequel. We believe that these actions – which we and our lawyers believe constitute criminal acts punishable by three years’ imprisonment – were carried out by Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel with the support of Kaur Kender, another minority shareholder. This is hardly surprising given that Tõnis Haavel, who we believe to be the ringleader, was convicted of defrauding investors in another case in 2007.
We are reviewing our legal options. Civil and criminal proceedings are being considered – in Estonia and the UK.
It goes without saying that this period has been very difficult for us. After five years of painstaking work, we have released Disco Elysium, a game loved by millions. As a reward, we were summarily fired and cut off from our life’s work, the world of Elysium. The business we created has been looted, while our own income is not even enough to cover the legal costs.
So far, we have refrained from speaking. It was entirely voluntary, out of consideration for the people who still work at ZA/UM – and for our own sanity. But given the seriousness of our suspicions – and the seriousness of the evidence we have – we think it’s time people knew what happened at the company.
We are eternally grateful to all the fans of Disco Elysium, who gave us invaluable moral support. We still believe in games, we still believe in ourselves, and we still believe in you. Millions of RPG fans have proven that games like Disco Elysium have a mass following. It’s a really wonderful thing. No one can take that away from us.
We also believe in what Harrier du Bois calls “the law”. She’s not perfect, but she’s there to protect those who create from those who take. And that’s what she will do.
Robert Kurvitz – game director
Aleksander Rostov – artistic director”
It remains to be seen, and it is not clear, for what exact reasons the two former directors are attacking the shareholders of ZA/UM, and why the British courts would have jurisdiction to hear the dispute. Do they want to regain control of the board, be reinstated in their previous functions, or regain control of the franchise’s intellectual property? Recognition of fraud by the courts should at least exclude fraudsters from their current position, but the claims of Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov are currently not known.
Also Read | [News] Several “involuntary” departures within the Disco Elysium team at ZA/UM