The third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has been sentenced to 9 years in prison on charges of embezzling state funds (the so-called “jacket case”). He has also been banned from holding any government position for 3 years.
The sentence will begin from the date of Mikheil Saakashvili‘s arrest on October 1, 2021, and will expire on October 1, 2030.
Currently, Saakashvili is already serving a six-year sentence for two other cases. Additionally, legal proceedings are ongoing against him in connection with the events of November 7, 2007, and for illegally crossing the border.
According to the prosecution, between May 1, 2009, and February 25, 2013, Mikheil Saakashvili spent more than 9 million lari of state funds for personal purposes. At that time, this amount was equivalent to approximately 5.4 million dollars. The charge was brought in 2014.
In the same case, former head of the presidential security service, Teimuraz Janashia, was found guilty of abuse of office. The court ordered him to pay a fine of 300,000 lari (about 108,000 dollars).
In the court session held on March 10, 2025, Mikheil Saakashvili participated remotely from the Vivamed clinic.