Ex-Georgian Railway chief among eight charged in corruption probe
Georgian Railway corruption probe
Georgia‘s State Security Service has brought criminal charges against former Georgian Railway director-general David Peradze and seven other individuals. Two of the suspects will be charged in absentia and declared wanted. It remains unclear whether Peradze has been detained or is evading investigators.
David Peradze headed Georgian Railway between 2019 and 2025.
According to the State Security Service of Georgia, the investigation concerns the activities of former Georgian Railway executives and alleged corruption schemes used to unlawfully appropriate state property and public funds.
According to investigators, in 2019 David Peradze set up an organised group with the aim of fraudulently taking possession of scrap metal belonging to Georgian Railway.
The State Security Service of Georgia alleges that, under a pre-arranged scheme, scrap metal accumulated on railway property was collected, transported and processed in such a way that its original volume could no longer be accurately determined.
Investigators say that a number of pre-selected companies were used in parallel to issue false or misleading tax documentation. According to the investigation, these documents were used to formally legitimise the scrap metal before it was sold.
The State Security Service alleges that the scheme involved several former senior Georgian Railway officials, including the company’s then infrastructure director, as well as representatives of a number of private firms. According to the investigation, two tenders for the transportation and processing of scrap metal were announced in 2020, both of which were won by Kakheti LLC.
The nvestigators allege that part of the scrap metal that was actually collected was systematically diverted from Georgian Railway’s inventory and transported to the Geosteel plant in Rustavi. The State Security Service of Georgia alleges that falsified documentation was used throughout the process to conceal the actual volume of metal involved and prevent the identification of those responsible for the shortfall.
According to the State Security Service, 22,120 tonnes of scrap metal were misappropriated under the scheme between 2020 and 2021. Investigators say the metal was subsequently purchased by Geosteel for more than 17.39m lari (about $6.44m). The proceeds were allegedly transferred to the bank accounts of several companies before being withdrawn in cash and distributed among members of the group.
The case also includes a separate episode linked to a contract signed in 2022 between Georgian Railway and Raveld. The contract, worth nearly $1m, covered the repair of defects in railway rails.
According to the State Security Service, acceptance documents for the work contained artificially inflated figures: while only 987 rails had actually been welded, the paperwork stated that 1,200 had been completed. As a result, investigators allege, the company received an additional 403,844 lari (about $149,500).
David Peradze and the other defendants are accused of large-scale fraud committed through the abuse of official position, the production and use of forged documents, money laundering and other offences.
The investigation is being conducted under several articles of the Criminal Code which, if the defendants are found guilty, carry prison sentences of between nine and 12 years.
