The court found former Humal not guilty of violating procedural restrictions and businessman Pruunsild not guilty of aiding in the alleged offense.

As procedural costs, the court ordered the state to pay €93,000 to Humal and €192,000 to Pruunsild.

The prosecution had accused Humal of violating procedural restrictions and Pruunsild of aiding in the same offense. The charges were related to the sale of ERM's former exhibition building to the student corporation Sakala, of which Pruunsild is a member.

The court found that Humal had not violated any of the procedural restrictions established by the Anti-Corruption Act in meetings regarding the property and in the decision-making process on waiving the exchange agreement.

The court did not establish that Humal had participated in directing the substantive decision. The decision that acquiring the property was not a reasonable use of the city's budget was reached through joint discussions within the city government and was made by consensus, the court's press representative stated.

One of the main questions in this criminal case was whether Humal and Pruunsild were considered related persons under the Anti-Corruption Act.

The court concluded that while the pair were related persons in general, they were not related persons within the meaning of the Anti-Corruption Act. The court found that Humal and Pruunsild were like-minded individuals who shared political views and discussed them together.

The court also determined that social ties between Humal and Pruunsild were not of such a nature that they could be considered related persons under the Anti-Corruption Act due to their social relationship.

Since aiding can only be applied to the intentional unlawful act of another person, and the court acquitted Humal of violating procedural restrictions, Pruunsild must also be acquitted of aiding in that offense, the court ruled.

The charges were linked to the sale of the former exhibition building of the Estonian National Museum (ERM) to the student corporation Sakala, of which Pruunsild is a member.

According to the prosecution, Humal, as Tartu's deputy mayor, participated in various Tartu City Government meetings, discussions, and sessions concerning the relinquishment of the ERM property, where he expressed both his own and Pruunsild's position that the city should forgo acquiring the property, thereby allowing Pruunsild to achieve his desired outcome. Pruunsild wanted the property to go to the student corporation Sakala, of which he is a member.

In January 2023, Sakala acquired the ERM property at auction for €1.22 million.

The ruling has not yet entered into force and can be appealed to the circuit court.

In response to ERR's inquiry about whether they plan to appeal the decision, the prosecution stated that they need time to review the ruling.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!