Laupmaa's lawyer together with the prosecution has submitted the plea deal request to the first tier Harju County Court, which on Tuesday lunchtime accepted the plea deal.

Under its terms, Laupmaa must pay €2,470 in fines and must also repay the still unpaid portion of donations, which comes to nearly €30,000.

Laupmaa himself said in court: "Yes, I plead guilty in accordance with the plea bargain," giving his assurance to the judge that he would be able to repay the necessary amounts by 2027.

According to the evidence gathered, approximately €213,000 came in to the toeta.me platform Laupmaa oversaw, across more than 3,700 donations. According to the indictment, Laupmaa used funds collected for charitable purposes on himself and his business.

The funds were meant to purchase drones from Estonian company Threod Systems. The drones would be equipped with anti-GPS jamming devices, which extend the life of drones on the front line and help to circumvent Russian electronic warfare measures.

Laupmaa had earlier pledged to repay all donors, though from last year started to fall behind with the repayment schedule.

If the court decides to grant this request, Laupmaa would receive a monetary penalty of €2500, Postimees reported. In addition, he would be ordered to pay the remainder of donations not yet repaid, which totals €30,000.

ERR had previously reported that according to the indictment, starting from September 2022 Laupmaa collected donations via the toeta.me platform, in order to buy and deliver to the Ukrainian armed forces two drone aircraft together with the necessary control and auxiliary systems. In addition, the platform offered people the option to donate for the support of the Institute of Infographics and Ergonomics.

Writer Roy Strider, and Riigikogu MPs Eerik-Niiles Kross (Reform) and Juku-Kalle Raid (Eesti 200) were among those who spearheaded the donation drive.

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