Over USD 7 million in cash, as well as other valuables, were seized during searches of dozens of homes belonging to former officials, including ex-Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, and their associates, the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) announced on October 18.
The SSSG briefing came a day after Georgian prosecutors announced that the homes of former officials, Garibashvili, former SSSG head Grigol Liluashvili, former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, and eight of their associates, had been searched “as part of ongoing investigations into various criminal cases,” without providing further details.
“Cash totaling USD 7,002,200 and GEL 136,000, along with 198 pieces of jewelry and watches, valuable paintings, thousands of pages of documents, 50 mobile phones, and 119 electronic devices, were seized from various locations.,” Emzar Gagnidze, head of SSSG’s Anti-Corruption Agency, said in a briefing.
According to Gagnidze, home and personal searches were carried out on October 17 across Georgia in 24 apartments and residential houses, including in Tbilisi and the Dedoplistskaro, Vani, Chokhatauri, and Borjomi municipalities. He noted that the raids, involving 230 officers from the Prosecutor’s Office and the SSSG, targeted properties of Irakli Garibashvili, Grigol Liluashvili, Otar Partskhaladze, jailed former Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze, as well as their associates, including Mikheil Chokheli, Vano and Tornike Parkauli, Andrea (Sandro) Liluashvili, and their family members.
The briefing featured images of cash and jewelry allegedly seized from the searched homes. The SSSG did not specify to whom the seized items belonged or which criminal investigations had prompted the raids.
The SSSG official added that the information contained in the seized documents and electronic devices is being “intensively” examined and processed, while authorities are also investigating the true origins of the seized cash. Based on the processed information, “subsequent investigative and operative actions will be planned, and legal responses toward the relevant individuals will be initiated,” Gagnidze said.
The raids follow a series of resignations, followed by prosecutions, arrests, and incidents involving former Georgian Dream officials and business allies. While authorities have justified the crackdown as part of their anti-corruption efforts, critics have described it as an internal purge and an act of personal retribution by Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream’s billionaire founder.
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