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Legal and political disputes involving Irakli Garibashvili

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2026-08-24 13:54 UTC → 2026-08-25 07:36 UTC · added ~~removed~~

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 ~~of medical equipment and inventory~~ 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.”

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