"Whether there was a contract with the particular influencer who provided the marketing service, what was included in the contract and what service was purchased. Also, whether the expected work was delivered and what that ought to have consisted of," Oviir told ERR, listing the questions the ERJK is seeking answers to.

"All the information we have at the moment is only that which has been published in the media. This influencer himself has said that one of the things he did there was to open Margus Tsahkna up as a person. Among other things, he praised the minister. If they want to market themselves as a person, a politician should have to pay for that service themselves," the chair said.

"The fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could outsource the marketing of the ministry, and via all the channels they see as appealing to their target audience, is all appropriate. However, the aspect we are interested in, is what the arrangements were in terms of Margus Tsahkna himself, and who paid for it. We do not know at this stage. What has been said is quite limited – that (the influencer) was paid for accommodation, travel expenses and meals. Now the question is whether there were also any agreements in writing that he would have to do some kind of work and hand that over to the client," she said.

"If it was paid for by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that is, with the use of public funds, and the outcome was predominantly the personal promotion of one politician, then we are very likely to say, that in that case, according to the law, the politician himself has to pay for it. We can ensure that with an injunction. In that case, we will issue an injunction for the reimbursement of those sums to the person, who has made that expenditure," Oviir said.

"It is one thing for a public authority to have the right to commission and pay for marketing. However, in terms of the Political Parties Act, it could likely be a likely if a politician buys marketing for themselves using public funds. This is what we control. Once we have received the answers, we will be able to assess whether a possible violation of the Political Parties Act has taken place," Oviir added.

Last week, it emerged that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had included social media influencer Kurn, as part of foreign minister Tsahkna's delegation during a visit to India.

Kurn's travel expenses of around €3,000 were paid using funds from the state budget. Unlike the journalist who also accompanied him on the visit, Kurn reported on events in India only from a perspective favorable to Tsahkna.

Oviir said the ERJK would consider whether the involvement of Kurn constituted a prohibited donation, or perhaps the use of public funds for private interests.

Tsahkna visited New Delhi in February with his Nordic and Baltic counterparts to take part in the annual Raisina Dialogue conference.

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