Transparency International (TI) – Georgia, the key local corruption watchdog, says “elite corruption was and remains much more widespread” than the ruling Georgian Dream party “admits” by targeting several former officials and associates.
“For years, when Transparency International Georgia and investigative media sounded the alarm about the problem of elite corruption, Georgian Dream denied it and called it a lie,” Eka Gigauri, Director of TI-Georgia, said at an October 30 briefing. “However, recently they had to admit to it.”
Georgian Dream has recently gone after former members and associates on charges of serious financial crimes amid its proclaimed “uncompromising” fight against corruption. Most recently, former PM Irakli Garibashvili was indicted on serious money-laundering charges after authorities said he admitted to receiving illicit income for years. He was granted bail by the court.
“For years, investigative agencies, prosecutors, judges, employees of the State Security Service, and the Anti-Corruption Bureau have been involved in covering up corruption,” Gigauri added, stressing that “in reality, elite corruption was massive.”
Gigauri said that over the past five years, TI-Georgia has documented 250 cases of elite corruption involving 221 high-ranking officials, including 38 ministers or deputy ministers, 40 MPs, 17 judges, and 67 municipal officials. The watchdog summarized seven major corruption schemes in its report.
According to the organization, Georgian Dream officials have received about GEL 5 billion (USD 1.8 billion) through corrupt public procurement practices over the past decade. Of this, GEL 3.3 billion (USD 1.2 billion) originated from regional budgets, including GEL 1.1 billion (USD 400 million) in 2024, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze took office.
Among the largest cases, TI-Georgia highlighted GEL 650 million (USD 238 million) in state contracts received by businessman Otar Tateshvili, reportedly close to Bidzina Ivanishvili, after selling land to him in the southern Georgian town of Abastumani. The watchdog also noted that GEL 390 million (USD 143 million) was received by the company Serpentine, allegedly owned by relatives of Irakli Garibashvili, through tenders between 2013 and 2025.
TI-Georgia also detailed schemes involving state subsidies and agricultural and business support programs, through which ruling party donors allegedly received GEL 71 million (USD 26 million) and later returned GEL 7.7 million (USD 2.8 million) to Georgian Dream in the form of political donations. The organization further reported that companies linked to Georgian Dream donors received over GEL 1 billion (USD 367 million) in public procurements during the 2020–2024 election period.
Other schemes, according to the watchdog, include the distribution of business licenses and permits to influential individuals, such as 29 small and medium hydropower plant construction permits granted to Ivanishvili’s alleged relative Koka Kokolashvili, and similar permits obtained by family members of Environment Minister Davit Songulashvili and other ruling party figures.
The watchdog also pointed to the privatization of state property and lease agreements, noting that from 2013 to 2020, state property worth GEL 13 million (USD 4.7 million) was sold to individuals who later donated GEL 2 million (USD 0.7 million) to the ruling party. TI-Georgia argued that over 300 government decrees adopted between 2021 and 2023, transferring state property directly without competition – often for a symbolic GEL 1 – remain inaccessible to the public.
The organization further estimated that the state budget potentially lost up to USD 100 million following the adoption of the so-called “offshore law” in spring 2024, which made it easier to bring offshore assets into the country tax-free. The organization said the law allowed Bidzina Ivanishvili to “import his collection of expensive art and other assets into the country without paying any taxes.”
The group also highlighted that high-ranking officials declared GEL 34 million (USD 12.4 million) in 2024-2025 as gifts received from family members.
“It is likely that in this way some officials are trying to disguise their illegal income, which the Georgian Dream Prosecutor’s Office itself confirmed in the case of Irakli Garibashvili,” TI-Georgia argued.
The watchdog said it had repeatedly appealed to the Anti-Corruption Agency, the Prosecutor’s Office, and, more recently, the Anti-Corruption Bureau, submitting materials on 65 corruption cases, but “none of these agencies reacted to any of them.”
Also Read:
- 12/09/2025 – TI-Georgia: 308 Officials Declared GEL 22 Million in Gifts in One Year
- 23/10/2024 – TI Georgia: Companies Tied to GD Received GEL 1.130 Billion Worth Tenders in 2024
- 22/10/2024 – Watchdog Assesses Corruption, Judiciary, Oversight, Media in 2020-2024
- 26/10/2023 – Watchdog: Officials Get Sizeable “Gifts” from Family Members
This post is also available in: ქართული