Two years ago, the two officers — Eerik Heldna and Aivar Alavere — plus then Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) director Elmar Vaher — came under investigation and were charged with fraud.

The charge sheet stated that in February 2019, Heldna reached an agreement with Vaher that the PPA formally hire him, then immediately reassign him to the military intelligence center, his existing employer at the time.

The indictment claimed that Heldna, Vaher, and Alavere, the latter Central Criminal Police (Keskkriminaalpolitsei) chief, were all aware that the arrangement was needed to make Heldna eligible for a so-called police pension, in the future.

The first-tier Harju County Court, however, on Monday acquitted the former police officials, explaining that neither the Civil Service Act nor the rotation requirements of the Police and Border Guard Act had been violated.
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Heldna stated that the hearing had caused him reputational damage.

He said: "For a police officer, for an officer, this is reputational damage. It is a very significant attack, and such a matter should not remain without a clear answer as to why someone decided to orchestrate this. But we will now start looking for those answers."

Heldna added the case had significantly affected his job prospects, most regrettably that he couldn't take a position in Ukraine on an EU civilian mission.

Alavere, meanwhile, said: "There's really a sadness in my soul. There's no point in talking about victory here, as I've always said that there are no winners in these proceedings. Yes, one party is either found guilty or acquitted, but the reputation of the Estonian state loses either way."

Vaher, who came under investigation just before stepping down as PPA chief, suggested that journalists who approached him ask former head of the Internal Security Service (ISS) Arnold Sinisalu why the investigation had to be launched.

Vaher said: "The PPA is a smart organization, the Foreign Intelligence Service is a smart organization, the Ministry of Defense is a smart organization, but someone thought differently. Today, we learned via a fifth court ruling that what we did in 2019 was right. The fifth court ruling."

The Prosecutor's Office can appeal the decision within 30 days.

State Prosecutor Jürgen Hüva said he does not agree with the court's conclusions and will decide on an appeal after reviewing the court's rationale in its decision.

Commenting on Elmar Vaher's claim that this is the fifth acquittal, Hüva said: "It is important to distinguish where those other rulings were made. These are completely different proceedings with entirely different focal points. This case focused on a very specific situation, and in my view, the other referenced decisions are not comparable."

"From the prosecutor's perspective, it is positive that the court did see some degree of culpability in their conduct. Yes, the court did not agree that it was criminally punishable," Hüva added.

Heldna, Vaher, and Alavere had been charged with fraud and aiding and abetting fraud, allegedly in helping Heldna falsely create the impression with the Social Insurance Board (SKA) that he had 25 years of police service, to guarantee full pension rights.

Heldna was charged with fraud and incitement to falsifying documents, while Vaher and Alavere were charged with aiding fraud and document falsification.

After the acquittals, the court awarded compensation of €14,178 to Alavere, €23,307 to Heldna, and €19,839 to Vaher, while compensation claims for material and non-material damages were mostly rejected.

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