“There is no longer any potential for his [return to politics] when there is a direct corruption offense involved,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in response to a journalist’s question about whether he sees any possibility of former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili returning to politics.
Kobakhidze said Garibashvili’s recent letters had not caused discomfort for the ruling team, unlike what he described as Garibashvili’s alleged corrupt activities while serving as prime minister. “The discomfort is when a former prime minister ends up in prison on specific charges. This is, of course, a source of discomfort, and Garibashvili created this discomfort for our team,” Kobakhidze said. He added that corruption charges cannot be “washed away” through statements or letters.
Kobakhidze also said that similar attempts by former officials to make statements after facing criminal charges had not affected the government. He attributed this to what he described as the “clean” conduct of the ruling team under Bidzina Ivanishvili’s leadership. “Our government works so cleanly that none of these attempts have ever had any success,” he said, referring to Garibashvili and other former officials.
Garibashvili, a former Georgian Dream leader and prime minister, pleaded guilty to corruption charges in February and was sentenced to five years in prison under a plea agreement. On August 17, he publicly criticized the Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili, claiming he had been asked to admit to an unspecified corruption offense to prevent any possibility of his return to politics. On August 18, Garibashvili identified Mamuka Mdinaradze as the alleged sender of the letter. Mdinaradze later denied sending such a letter and announced his resignation from politics on August 27. On August 24, Garibashvili was presented with new corruption charges, which carry a potential prison sentence of 11–15 years; according to the investigation, he allegedly received GEL 750,000 in cash from businessman Zurab Tukvadze.
