Ex-PM Gharibashvili Faces New Bribery Charges
The Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has filed charges against former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili for accepting a bribe in an especially large amount in advance with a group of people, — TASS reports the words of Garibashvili.
Consensus
- Irakli Gharibashvili is a former Prime Minister of Georgia who has been serving a five-year prison sentence.
- He has been charged with a new offense involving bribery in an especially large amount.
- The alleged bribe was 750,000 Georgian Lari (GEL).
- The case relates to inflated defense procurement contracts for medical equipment for the Ministry of Defense.
- The new charges were formally presented on August 24.
- Gharibashvili is currently in custody.
- The prosecution alleges that the bribe was received through a prearranged agreement with former Defense Minister Juansher Burcualadзе.
- The Ministry of Defense was involved in the procurement of medical equipment under closed procedures.
- The total value of the contracts was nearly 18.5 million GEL, while the actual cost was about 11.5 million GEL.
- The state loss is estimated at over 6.98 million GEL.
- Gharibashvili previously admitted guilt in a separate case involving money laundering and was sentenced in January 2026.
- He was also previously involved in illegal business activities during his tenure in office.
Points of divergence
- The businessman involved in the scheme transferred 1.9 million GEL to the participants, of which 400,000 GEL was kept by Vasyl Mkhaidze and 1.5 million GEL by Burcualadze, with half of that sum—750,000 GEL—later transferred to Gharibashvili. — fontanka
- The prosecution alleges that Gharibashvili engaged in illegal business activities from 2019 to 2024 and provided false information in income declarations. — kommerzant
- Gharibashvili was elected chairman of the 'Georgian Dream' party on February 1, 2024. — interfax
- Gharibashvili considers the case against him fabricated and politically motivated. — vesti
- Gharibashvili announced his intention to leave politics in April, before the formal charges were filed. — vesti
- Gharibashvili declared his withdrawal from politics on April 25, 2025. — vm
Coverage (5 sources)
- Already sitting, but they may give another 15 years. New accusation for former Georgian prime minister — Фонтанка
- Former Georgian Prime Minister Gharibashvili faces new corruption charges — Коммерсантъ
- Former Georgian Prime Minister Gharibashvili, sentenced to five years, faces new charges — Интерфакс
- Former Georgian Prime Minister Gharibashvili faces new charges — Вести
- The Prosecutor General of Georgia has filed charges against former Prime Minister Gariashvili for corruption — Вечерняя Москва