Searches carried out at homes of Georgia’s former prime minister and other ex-officials - a brief look at who they are
Raids on ex-PM Garibashvili in Georgia
The Georgian prosecutor’s office has carried out searches at the homes of former senior government officials, including ex-Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, former head of the State Security Service Grigol Liluashvili, and former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze.
The office also said similar actions were taken against eight other individuals connected to the officials.
It is not yet known which cases they are involved in. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, electronic devices, documents, and large sums of money were seized from them.
Background
Irakli Garibashvili announced his resignation as Georgia’s prime minister at the end of 2023. At the time, opposition media accused him of corruption, including allegedly using a government plane to send his son to study in the United States. After stepping down, he formally remained head of the ruling party but disappeared from public view. In April this year, he announced his departure from politics.
Under current Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who succeeded Garibashvili, nearly all ministers associated with the former premier’s team have resigned.
And not only resigned. In recent months, former Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze and former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze were arrested on corruption charges. Former regional governor of Adjara, Tornike Rijvadze, reportedly attempted suicide after writing a letter mentioning corruption allegations against him.
Grigol Liluashvili stepped down as head of the State Security Service in April. In September, his name appeared in reports about a series of arrests of company directors who had won multimillion-dollar government tenders, including for road repairs. One of the accused was said to be a distant relative of Liluashvili.
Then came a major incident on October 4, the day of municipal elections. The opposition boycotted the vote and called for street protests and a “peaceful revolution.” According to the TV channel Mtavari, Liluashvili switched sides to support the opposition and helped organize the rally.
However, Mtavari claimed that he “betrayed” the organizers. The protest ended with an attempted storming of the presidential administration; more than 45 people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Otar Partskhaladze served as Georgia’s prosecutor general in 2013–2014. He is under U.S. and U.K. sanctions for alleged ties to Russian intelligence. Now based in Russia, where he runs business operations, Partskhaladze has been linked in Georgian media reports to the March killing of businessman Levan Jangveladze in central Tbilisi — the brother of influential crime boss Merab “Sukhumi.”
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Prosecutor’s Office statement on the searches
“Given the particularly high public interest and importance of these criminal cases, we are providing the following information. As part of ongoing investigations into various criminal matters, the investigative department of Georgia’s general prosecutor’s office, together with the anti-corruption department and the state security service, carried out a large-scale operation today from 10:00 a.m., simultaneously at 22 locations across the country.
During the joint operation, authorities conducted searches of the homes and personal belongings of former Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili, state security officer Grigol Liluashvili, former attorney general Otar Partskhaladze, and eight other individuals connected to them.
Various electronic equipment, documents, and a large sum of cash were seized. Investigative, procedural, and operational-search measures are actively ongoing in these cases.”
Searches at ex-PM’s home
