On September 13, the Tbilisi City Court found the former chief of Georgia’s Military Police Department, Megis Kardava guilty of embezzling 60,000 GEL belonging to the Ministry of Defense of Georgia, according to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia.
Following a trial, the court sentenced Megis Kardava to 8 years’ imprisonment. However, through the application of the Georgian Amnesty Law, the sentence was reduced to 4 years’ imprisonment and a 6-month ban on holding public office or employment.
Based on the evidence presented by the Prosecutor General, the court found that in September 2011, during the ongoing investigation of the fabricated “espionage” case against Col. Sergo Tetradze in the Military Police Department, Megis Kardava withdrew 60,000 GEL from the accounting department of the Ministry of Defense at various times. With the help of the then Minister of Defense, Kardava fabricated documents claiming that the funds were used for operational and investigative measures in the criminal case.
Megis Kardava faced allegations of violating Article 182 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, specifically, Part 2, “A,” and Part 3, “B.” These sections pertain to the unlawful misappropriation of a substantial amount of another individual’s property or assets, carried out by a premeditated group.
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, Megis Kardava has faced a total of 11 criminal cases within Georgia. In 6 of these cases, guilty verdicts have been rendered, while the Tbilisi City Court currently has 5 pending criminal cases against him.
Megis Kardava was wanted by the Georgian authorities since 2013 on multiple charges, in eleven criminal cases. He was detained in Ukraine in 2017 and extradited from Kyiv in 2021. He was found guilty in the criminal cases of the Navtlugi special operation, 2006 prison riot, the torture and sexual abuse videos case, as well as in organizing the torture and sexual abuse of retired colonel Sergo Tetradze, for which Kardava was sentenced to nine years in prison in absentia.
Also Read:
- 17/07/2023 – Court of Appeals Upholds Conviction of Megis Kardava
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)