The state now must pay Vavrenjuk and five other acquitted individuals a total of over €263,000.

Investigative weekly Eesti Ekspress reports this sum is over 170 times the value of those small gifts and favors which Vavrenjuk allegedly received from close associates and which the prosecutor's office has mistaken for bribes.

The Tallinn Circuit Court found that Vavrenjuk received free legal advice on five occasions from lawyer and bankruptcy trustee Olev Kuklase, relating to personal matters.

The consultations, which occurred "sporadically," between 2008 and 2019, totaled twelve hours in duration and were valued at an hourly rate of €120, making the total worth €1,440.

Bankruptcy trustee and bailiff Sirje Tael 2015 allegedly provided judge Vavrenjuk's law student son with five legal books free of charge, and in 2019 allegedly helped Vavrenjuk in purchasing a Samsung smartphone at a discount equivalent to the VAT on that item, also gifting her phone covers.

In total, Vavrenjuk according to the charges had received benefits worth €1,514.99 from these two associates.

The state prosecutor's office saw a serious crime in Vavrenjuk's actions. According to the indictment, she had a years-long bribery agreement with both Kuklase and Tael, whereby she involved her friends in bankruptcy proceedings as trustees while adjudicating bankruptcy cases at the Tartu County Court.

Having been acquitted, Vavrenjuk can resume her work as a judge, and she confirmed to Ekspress that she will return to work as soon as she is ready.

However, Vavrenjuk may still face disciplinary action. The first-tier Harju County Court stated in its original decision: "Although Vavrenjuk's actions did not prove that crimes were committed, her behavior in providing legal assistance to individuals is ethically to be condemned."

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