Ex-Georgian Prime minister Irakli Garibashvili Pleads Guilty too Corruption Charges
TBILISI, GEORGIA – Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has pleaded guilty to corruption charges, possibly facing a 12-year jail term. He was granted bail of one million Georgian lari ($368,000; £277,000) following the plea.The case marks the first prosecution of a senior member of Georgia‘s governing elite and unfolds amid a growing authoritarian shift away from Western alignment.
Garibashvili served as both defense minister and prime minister between 2019 and January 2024. Authorities allege he “secretly and covertly engaged in various types of business activities and received a notably large amount of income of illegal origin” during his tenure.He is also accused of laundering this income and falsely declaring funds as gifts from family members.
His lawyer, Amiran Giguashvili, confirmed his client’s cooperation with authorities.”The court took into account that Mr Irakli agrees to the charges, does not hide from the investigation and co-operates,” giguashvili told the BBC.
The charges represent a dramatic reversal of fortune for Garibashvili, who began his career working in the companies of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili before entering politics in 2011 as a founding member of Ivanishvili’s Georgian dream party, which has held power as 2012. He signed Georgia’s Association agreement with the European Union in February 2014.
However, in recent years, Garibashvili spearheaded Georgia’s move away from the EU, forging closer ties with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and publicly attributing NATO expansion as a contributing factor to the war in Ukraine.
Georgian political analyst Ghia Nodia suggests Garibashvili’s prosecution stems from a loss of trust by Ivanishvili. “Ivanishvili is really the driver, he decided for some reason that there is some kind of treason in his team,” Nodia stated. “At this point,he trusts [current PM Irakli] Kobakhidze but stopped trusting his closest lieutenant,not just Garibashvili,but also [ex-security chief] Liluashvili and others.”
The case unfolds against a backdrop of ongoing political turmoil in Georgia, a year after contested parliamentary elections whose results were rejected by the then-president. Daily protests erupted following the government’s November 2024 announcement halting EU membership talks, and a majority of opposition leaders are currently imprisoned. New legislation has targeted civil society, pro-opposition media, and journalists and activists.
Nodia believes Ivanishvili feels “under siege,” convinced of “crazy deep state conspiracies that the West wants to destroy him through these continuous protests in Georgia.”
