UK opens criminal case against Georgian businessmen over Georgian-British universities takeover
UK investigation into Gilauri and Gachechiladze
The founders of the British-Georgian Academy and the British International School of Tbilisi, Natia Janashia and Davit Tsetskhladze, have filed a complaint with the law enforcement authorities of England and Wales. Following the complaint, UK authorities launched a criminal investigation into Irakli Gilauri, head of Georgian Capital, and Archil Gachechiladze, chief executive of Bank of Georgia.
The criminal investigation concerns suspected serious offences linked to the takeover of the British-Georgian Academy and the British International School of Tbilisi.
The alleged offences include fraud, abuse of corporate control, misappropriation of large sums of money, unlawful disclosure of confidential and insider financial information, and the unlawful seizure and destruction of property. British criminal law specialists are involved in the investigation.
According to the case materials, the matter falls under the jurisdiction of UK authorities in addition to Georgian investigators. The complaint argues that the alleged crimes involved the misuse of the business reputation, resources, and commercial capacities of publicly listed companies registered in the United Kingdom. The shares of these companies trade on the London Stock Exchange.
To avoid potential liability for those companies, Gilauri and Gachechiladze allegedly acted through legal entities registered in Georgia. The complaint states that, in practice, the same management team controls the companies registered in both Georgia and the UK. The team operates under the leadership of Irakli Gilauri and Archil Gachechiladze.
There are grounds to believe that Grigol Liluashvili, the former head of Georgia’s State Security Service, who is accused of bribery and is currently being held in pre-trial detention, may have been involved in the actions described above.
“These actions — including the falsification of documents in the public registry, the unlawful use of force by police, the violent and armed takeover of a school, interference with journalistic activities, the illegal abduction of school security guards from their homes, and their intimidation — would have been practically impossible without high-level protection,” the statement says.
Grigol Liluashvili, the former head of Georgia’s State Security Service, was arrested on 23 December 2025. Prosecutors accuse him of accepting bribes on an especially large scale.
According to Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, Liluashvili is charged in four corruption cases. The prosecution says the case involves corruption schemes carried out by a group acting in prior collusion, with a total value running into millions of lari and US dollars. If convicted, Liluashvili faces a prison sentence of between 11 and 15 years.
As reported by Legal News, these circumstances have intensified suspicions that state institutions were used, with the support of Grigol Liluashvili, to carry out the alleged criminal acts.
“As noted above, alongside their appeal to Georgian investigators, the school founders have submitted information to UK regulatory and law enforcement bodies, including authorities responsible for overseeing capital markets, from whom an effective response is expected.
In addition, investors in Georgian Capital and Bank of Georgia have been informed about alleged investor deception and the abuse of the UK financial market.
As a result of this legal response, the alleged unlawful takeover of the schools — described as a significant reputational risk for companies listed on the London Stock Exchange — is already being actively discussed in international media and among institutional investors.
The founders say they hope that the investigations in Georgia and the United Kingdom will be conducted impartially, leading to the full and immediate return of the unlawfully seized schools to their founders and to criminal accountability for all those involved in the takeover,” Legal News reported.
UK investigation into Gilauri and Gachechiladze
