During a discussion of the potential early release of Paulus, 57, in June, the prison and the prosecutor's office were both categorically opposed to Paulus getting out of jail before serving his time in full.

Viru County Court found on Wednesday that the release of Paulus is not justifiable. The court's decision can be appealed during the next 15 days.

Paulus is serving a seven-year jail sentence handed to him for leading a criminal organization. The prison term started from April 14, 2014, the day Paulus was arrested by the police, and currently runs until April 2021.

The Tallinn-based Harju County Court sentenced Paulus to seven years in jail under a plea bargain deal, and also endorsed punishments for 10 other individuals and two businesses, for offenses related to the activity of a criminal group in 2016. The court found Paulus guilty of forming and leading a criminal organization, counterfeiting of a document and using a counterfeited document.

In November of the same year, Viru County Court sentenced Paulus to six months in prison for financing a narcotics-trafficking gang. That sentence was covered by the prison term of seven years handed to Paulus previously by the Harju court.

In October 2017, the Harju County Court decided the members of Paulus' gang, who did not reach an agreement with the prosecutor regarding the penalties.

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