The hearing started Wednesday morning; a total of three sessions are scheduled for this week, with two more planned for November.

The prosecutor's office has charged Laanet with knowingly submitting claims in 2022 and 2023 for reimbursement of rental expenses based on a contract concluded with a related person.

The applications went to the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Riigikogu, while Laanet was Minister of Justice and later an MP.

The rental agreement Laanet submitted had been signed with a private limited company whose owner and sole board member was his stepson, though this was not clear from the submitted documentation. Since officials at the Office of the Riigikogu and the Ministry of Justice were unaware of the connection and had no means of verifying it, Laanet allegedly received unlawful reimbursements of more than €13,000 in housing rent.

The Riigikogu on May 22 lifted Laanet's parliamentary immunity. At the time, Laanet told the Riigikogu he had never intended to claim anything from the state he was not entitled to, and that he had never concealed who he was renting the apartment from, adding all rental contracts had been submitted to the ministries and to the Riigikogu office.

The pretrial investigation was carried out by the Central Criminal Police under the supervision of the District Prosecutor's Office for Economic and Corruption Crimes.

Laanet was justice minister from April 2023 to April 2024. He resigned from the post over the expenses scandal, and is now a sitting MP. He had been defense minister from 2021-2022.

Laanet added that he remains a member of the Riigikogu until he has been convicted of a crime in all three court instances, though he doubts that will ever happen, as he believes he has committed no crime.

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