The Tbilisi City Court has found former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili guilty of embezzling a large amount of budget funds. He was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment for this crime.
The court also found Temur Janashia, former head of the Special State Protection Service, guilty in the same case. However, as the judge explained, Janashia’s charges were reclassified, and he was fined GEL 300,000.
The Tbilisi City Court Judge Badri Kochlamazashvili announced the guilty verdict against both defendants. Earlier, Judge Kochlamazashvili explained that he could not postpone the hearing due to the defendant’s absence, as Georgian legislation does not provide for this.
“Mikheil Saakashvili has been found guilty of crimes under Article 182, Part 2, Subparagraph ‘b’ and Part 3, Subparagraph ‘b’ of the Criminal Code and is sentenced to nine years of imprisonment. He is also deprived of the right to hold appointed positions in public service for three years. Based on Article 59, Part 4 of the Criminal Code, this sentence will absorb the punishment determined by the City Court’s ruling of November 17, 2021, and he will ultimately serve nine years of imprisonment and be deprived of the right to hold appointed positions in public service for three years.
Mikheil Saakashvili’s sentence calculation will begin when this verdict is issued, on March 12, 2025. The period from October 1, 2021, to March 12, 2025, during which he was in custody, will be counted toward his sentence,” the judge stated.
The judge also explained his decision to reclassify Teimuraz Janashia’s charges.
“Teimuraz Janashia’s actions, qualified under Article 332, Part 2, Subparagraphs ‘a’ and ‘b’ and Part 3, Subparagraph ‘b’ of the Criminal Code, are reclassified to Article 332, Part 1. Teimuraz Janashia is found guilty of committing the crime provided for in Article 332, Part 1 of the Criminal Code and is sentenced to a fine of GE: 300,000. He is also deprived of the right to hold appointed positions in public service for three years. The verdict takes effect immediately upon announcement. The convicts have the right to appeal to the President of Georgia for pardon,” said Judge Badri Kochlamazashvili.
The investigation alleged that Mikheil Saakashvili and Temur Janashia misappropriated approximately GEL 9 million of state funds for personal purposes.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the investigation revealed that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, along with Special State Protection Service Chief Teimuraz Janashia and Otar Kvelidze, secretly allocated funds from the President’s reserve fund to the Special State Protection Service, which was under his direct supervision, in an effort to conceal facts regarding the misuse of budget funds.
According to the investigative agency, between May 1, 2009, and February 25, 2013, a total of GEL 9,024,367.34 of state budget funds was improperly spent for Mikheil Saakashvili’s personal purposes, based on his orders and organization. The authorization of these expenses was executed under the leadership of Special State Protection Service Chief Teimuraz Janashia through secret documents that were unlawfully classified as “secret.”
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was detained by the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs on October 1, 2021. On the same day, the prosecutor’s office charged him with illegally crossing the border.
