On September 27 of last year, Harju District Court found Mailis Reps guilty of embezzlement and fraud. In early June, the circuit court upheld both charges but to a slightly lesser extent than the district court. However, the circuit court found that the lower court had erred in adjudicating the civil claim and ordered a higher amount of damages to be paid to the state.

Lead state prosecutor Liis Vainola said the Office of the Prosecutor General is largely satisfied with the June 4 decision by the Tallinn Circuit Court, as two levels of the judiciary have largely affirmed the positions presented in the prosecution's case.

"The courts have convicted Reps in five of the incidents for which she was charged and confirmed the prosecution's allegation that, as a minister, she committed fraud against and embezzled property from the ministry. One charge was deemed a misdemeanor by the county court, which acknowledged it had occurred but had expired under the statute of limitations," Vainola explained.

At the same time, the Office of the Prosecutor General disagrees with the circuit court's assessment of two incidents involving Reps and is therefore seeking the Supreme Court's opinion on those matters.

One count relates to a birthday party organized for the minister at the Ministry of Education and Research. The second involves an allegation of fraud linked to a visit to WRC Rally Estonia, where the prosecution contends it was unjustified to exclude accommodation costs related to the minister's driver from the expenses in question.

As a result, the Office of the Prosecutor General filed a cassation, asking the Supreme Court to partially overturn the circuit court's decision and to convict Reps for organizing the birthday party at the ministry's expense. It also requested that the conviction include the detail that Reps unjustifiably claimed reimbursement for accommodation expenses.

In September of last year, the Harju District Court found Reps guilty of embezzlement and fraud and imposed a cumulative sentence for all offenses of one year and five months of imprisonment, and opted to suspend the sentence on the condition that she does not commit any intentional crime during the two-year probation period.

The court cleared Reps of a civil claim for €120,000.

"According to the indictment, Reps used ministry funds to cover personal expenses which were unrelated to ministry work. These included childcare (for instance transport, babysitting, assistance), transporting herself and others, the purchase of goods and covering delivery costs," the ruling read.

Additionally the indictment alleged that Reps had used a fuel card for personal use issued by the Ministry of Education and Research and had the ministry cover catering expenses for a private birthday party, held at the ministry's premises.

She allegedly also used ministry funds to pay for her child's travel expenses, for a coffee machine, for costs associated with her birthday celebrations at the Mon Repos restaurant and on expenses related to attending WRC Rally Estonia.

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