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Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has been charged with large-scale money laundering and released on one million Lari ($368,400) bail after a Tbilisi court granted the prosecutors’ request on Oct. 24. Judge Eka Barbakadze also imposed a travel ban and ordered the confiscation of Garibashvili’s passport. He has 30 days to pay the bail. During the hearing, Garibashvili declined to address the court. “Nothing,” he replied when the judge asked if he wished to make a statement. His lawyer, Amiran Giguashvili, later told journalists that his client “has not testified against anyone.” Prosecutor general’s briefing According to Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvaramidze, Garibashvili engaged in “concealed and illegal business activities” between 2019 and 2024 – a period when he served as both defense minister and prime minister. Investigators allege that he earned “particularly large amounts of illicit income” and laundered the funds through a network of companies and intermediaries. “Despite this, while in office, Garibashvili secretly and covertly engaged in various types of business activities and received particularly large amounts of income of illegal origin,” Gvarakidze said on Oct. 24, “As a public official, he was obliged to declare both his income and expenses.” If convicted under Article 194, Part 3(g) of Georgia’s Criminal Code, Garibashvili faces between nine and 12 years in prison. Searches target former officials and associates The charges were accompanied by a series of searches in the homes of former government officials and business figures linked to Garibashvili’s political and economic circle. Investigators reportedly seized documents, financial records, and electronic devices believed to be connected to the alleged money-laundering schemes. The Prosecutor’s Office described the investigation as part of a broader anti-corruption effort, hinting that further indictments may follow. Garibashvili: Ivanishvili’s right hand and the voice of the regime For years, Irakli Garibashvili has been seen as the most loyal lieutenant of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili — the founder and informal ruler of Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream. His political comeback in 2019 was widely viewed as a move engineered by Ivanishvili to tighten control over key security and administrative institutions. Garibashvili acted not only as a political executor but as the ideological voice of the current regime: attacking the opposition and civil society, amplifying anti-Western rhetoric, and defending policies aligned with Moscow’s interests. His tenure was marked by numerous scandals. As prime minister, Garibashvili became the government’s chief propagandist, attacking opposition parties, journalists, and NGOs as “foreign agents,” while promoting conservative and often pro-Russian narratives. Analysts see the new criminal case as either a rare sign of accountability or an orchestrated “internal cleanup” within Georgian Dream, aimed at consolidating Ivanishvili’s power and easing Western pressure.
