# Legal and political disputes involving Irakli Garibashvili > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/legal-and-political-disputes-involving-irakli-garibashvili > Updated: 2026-08-22T16:54:02.000Z. Sources: 29. Developments: 2. The political situation in Georgia involving former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has escalated from internal political disputes to criminal prosecution. Initially, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze addressed an open letter from the jailed Garibashvili, which the former leader claimed was part of a campaign of targeting by the Georgian Dream founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Kobakhidze described the letter as a “very problematic statement” but declined to comment on its specific contents. Subsequently, the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia charged Garibashvili with accepting large-scale bribes as part of a criminal group. The prosecution alleges that Garibashvili received 750,000 GEL through a scheme involving secret Ministry of Defense procurements of medical equipment and inventory between 2021 and 2024. Detailed investigations reveal that the Ministry of Defense conducted three secret purchases totaling 18.48 million GEL, despite the goods having an actual value of only 11.5 million GEL, creating a discrepancy of approximately 6.99 million GEL. Prosecutors allege that Vasil Mkheidze, a relative of former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, acted as an intermediary. Mkheidze reportedly received 1.9 million GEL in cash from a businessman; he allegedly kept 400,000 GEL and passed 1.5 million GEL to Burchuladze. Of that amount, Burchuladze is alleged to have kept 750,000 GEL and transferred the remaining 750,000 GEL to Garibashvili in stages. While Burchuladze has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, Garibashvili faces a potential sentence of 11 to 15 years. Defense attorney Lili Gelashvili has rejected the charges as “absurd,” characterizing the proceedings as political persecution and describing Garibashvili as a “political prisoner.” ## Claims - The Prosecutor's Office charged former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili with accepting an especially large amount of bribes as part of a group. (corroborated by 5 sources) - The charges against Garibashvili carry a potential prison sentence of 11 to 15 years. (corroborated by 5 sources) - The bribery charges are related to fraudulent procurement of medical equipment and inventory by the Ministry of Defense. (corroborated by 4 sources) - Former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (corroborated by 3 sources) - The investigation into secret Ministry of Defense procurements dates back to 2022. (corroborated by 3 sources) - The Ministry of Defense made three secret purchases totaling 18.48 million GEL. (corroborated by 3 sources) - Vasil Mkheidze allegedly transferred 1.5 million GEL to Juansher Burchuladze. (corroborated by 3 sources) - Irakli Garibashvili allegedly received 750,000 GEL in bribes for his patronage of the procurement scheme. (corroborated by 2 sources) - The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Russian forces conducted drone strikes on the Yuzhny port in the Odesa region. (single source) - The drone strikes damaged five fuel and lubricant storage tanks and other port infrastructure. (single source) - On August 20, Russian forces conducted large-scale strikes on military objects in Kyiv and the Kyiv region. (single source) ## Timeline ### 2026-08-22: Irakli Garibashvili charged with bribery in Georgia Georgia's Prosecutor's Office has charged former PM Irakli Garibashvili with accepting large bribes related to fraudulent Ministry of Defense medical equipment procurement. 27 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/shant-baghratyan-charged-with-large-scale-tax-evasion-in-armenia ### 2026-08-18: Irakli Kobakhidze defends historical treaty and responds to jailed former PM Georgian PM Irakli Kobakhidze defended the 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk and responded to a problematic statement from jailed former PM Irakli Garibashvili. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/irakli-kobakhidze-defends-historical-treaty-and-responds-to-jailed-former-pm --- Cite as: Legal and political disputes involving Irakli Garibashvili. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/legal-and-political-disputes-involving-irakli-garibashvili