Economy Ministry Official Arrested

Tamaz Tabatadze, head of the agency within the Economy Ministry dealing with privatization, was arrested on July 31 for allegedly taking a bribe.

The Interior Ministry said that the arrest was linked to the previous day’s arrests of Beka Okrostsvaridze, the deputy economy minister, and Lasha Moistsrapishvili, the deputy head of the ministry’s privatization department. Both men are alleged to have taken a USD 350,000 bribe in exchange for selling state-owned property at a lower-than-market price.