As a result of a large-scale operation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Agency in 9 regions of the country, 28 individuals have been prosecuted in 14 different criminal cases. Emzar Gagnidze, the Director of the Georgian State Security Service’s Anti-Corruption Agency, said this at today’s briefing.

“Authorities arrested 3 individuals and charged 11 others in 5 criminal cases related to the fraudulent misappropriation of state funds allocated through public procurement… The cases concern alleged document forgery and other unlawful activities during road construction, internal water supply network projects, and public school rehabilitation works carried out by private companies in the municipalities of Tsalka, Akhaltsikhe, and Tetritskaro. Investigators allege that the schemes resulted in the fraudulent appropriation of tens of thousands of lari.

The investigation also found that several of the accused allegedly supplied lower quantities than required under state contracts, as well as Easter food products and disinfectants of different brands and inferior quality, under procurement contracts for Tbilisi kindergartens and Batumi’s free dining facilities.

These actions caused the state financial damage amounting to 669,497 GEL.

Seven individuals have been charged in three criminal cases involving the fraudulent acquisition of state-owned land, abuse of official authority, and official misconduct.

The investigation alleges that representatives of the municipalities and municipal councils of Dmanisi, Gurjaani, and Tsalka abused their official positions and used forged documentation to unlawfully acquire a total of 91,564 square meters of state-owned land.

The estimated damage to the state in these cases amounts to 397,804 GEL.

Three individuals have been arrested in connection with three separate bribery cases… Investigators allege that officials from the municipalities of Lanchkhuti and Tetritskaro, as well as a representative of the Oni Forestry Service, accepted bribes from Georgian and foreign citizens in exchange for facilitating the placement and subsequent protection of mobile commercial facilities on state-owned land, transferring state land for beekeeping purposes, and allowing the illegal felling and transportation of protected oak trees.

Four individuals have been arrested in three criminal cases involving the production and distribution of forged official documents and commercial bribery committed by a group.

According to the investigation, the suspects allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for producing and distributing forged driver’s licenses, Georgian passports, and counterfeit bachelor’s diplomas purportedly issued by a private higher education institution.

The investigation is being conducted under multiple articles of the Criminal Code of Georgia, including provisions related to fraud, commercial bribery, abuse of official authority, bribery, official misconduct, and document forgery.

The SSSG will continue efforts to detect and prevent corruption, special attention is being paid to assessing and eliminating corruption risks in order to reduce corruption to a minimum”, - said Emzar Gagnidze.