Anzor Chubinidze, the Head of the Special State Protection Service, on Tuesday said the Georgian Prime Minister's father, Tariel Garibashvili, had paid for the charter flight of the PM to Munich in August that became a subject of domestic TV reports for allegations on its expenses.
Chubinidze’s comments followed reports by the TV Pirveli channel that said Garibashvili had travelled to the German city with his son on a Government-funded charter flight.
"I would like to confirm to the public that the [money] contribution was made to the account of the Special State Protection Service, which provides for the expenses related to the Tbilisi-Munich-Tbilisi flight. The contribution was made by a private person and this amount is equivalent to €34,000 in lari”, Chubinidze said.
The official added it had been “made clear” that the payment for the PM’s flight would be made from non-budgetary funds.
“Today I confirm to the public that the settlement was made by a private person and this person is Tariel Garibashvili”, he noted.
The Strategic Communications Department of the Government of Georgia on Sunday rejected the media reports on the PM’s travels as “fake” and said they were being “deliberately disseminated to mislead the public”.
The Administration said the flight that carried Garibashvili to Munich in August had been “commercial”, with “no state funds” used for the purpose.
