Former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili has been arrested on corruption charges, prosecutors say. He is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes between 2021 and 2023, including payments from a Turkish investor to lobby for wind power projects, bribes linked to gasification tenders, and proceeds from protecting fraudulent ‘call centers’. Prosecutors also allege he used his position to shield a scheme involving kickbacks in kindergarten procurement contracts in Tbilisi. Authorities say the investigation is ongoing and are seeking his pretrial detention.
The announcement was made by Chief Prosecutor Giorgi Gvarakidze.
According to him, Liluashvili is accused of accepting bribes in several criminal cases handled by the Prosecutor’s Office:
“First episode: In October 2022, Grigol Liluashvili [allegedly] accepted a bribe of USD 1 million from Turkish investor Çağatay Ülker through Romeo Mikautadze, who at the time was the First Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development. In exchange, Liluashvili was to lobby for the signing of a memorandum of cooperation related to the construction of wind power plants.
Second episode: In February 2022, again through Romeo Mikautadze, Liluashvili [allegedly] demanded and received GEL 1.5 million from Giorgi Khazalia, the founder of Expressservice 2008, in exchange for assistance in gasification tenders.
Third episode: This episode concerns the years 2021–2023, when, despite the state’s declared legal fight against them, dozens of fraudulent ‘call centers’ continued to operate in the country. According to witness testimonies, the vast majority of these ‘call centers’ were owned by a group of individuals who financed various opposition media outlets from the proceeds, while a smaller portion of the ‘call centers’ was primarily protected by Grigol Liluashvili. He [allegedly] carried out this activity through his relative, Sandro Liluashvili. As a result of this criminal activity, Grigol Liluashvili [allegedly] received approximately USD 1,365,000 in bribes, mediated by Sandro Liluashvili. Alongside gathering evidence against other individuals involved in the criminal scheme, the investigation is actively examining a version according to which Grigol Liluashvili, together with accomplices, ensured that the existence of fraudulent ‘call centers’ financing opposition media was not exposed, while opposition media outlets, in turn, refrained from reporting on the fraudulent ‘call centers’ operating under Liluashvili’s protection, despite being aware of this information.
Fourth episode: By abusing his official position, Grigol Liluashvili [allegedly] provided protection, in exchange for bribes, to his friend Kakhа Gvantseladze, the former director of the Tbilisi City Hall Kindergarten Management Agency. Gvantseladze [allegedly] received especially large sums of money in the form of bribes — so-called “kickbacks”— from business entities in connection with the signing of procurement contracts for kindergartens. Within this criminal scheme involving Liluashvili and Gvantseladze, Kakhaber Gvantseladze had also involved employees of the agency responsible for financial accounting, calculations, and monitoring. All of them have been formally charged with criminal liability”.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, hundreds of investigative actions have been carried out in the case, including witness interviews whose testimonies confirm the commission of crimes by Grigol Liluashvili and others. Various pieces of evidence have also been seized, including video and audio recordings.
Grigol Liluashvili has been charged under Article 338, Part 2, subparagraph “c,” and Part 3, subparagraph “e,” of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns accepting bribes in especially large amounts by an organized group acting by prior agreement. The offense carries a penalty of 11 to 15 years’ imprisonment.
The Prosecutor’s Office is seeking pretrial detention as a preventive measure for the former head of the State Security Service.
Contrary to the Prosecutor’s claim that opposition media deliberately avoided reporting on ‘call centers’ run by Grigol Liluashvili in exchange for his protection of other ‘call centers’ funding these outlets, it should be noted that it was precisely critical and opposition media that reported on the then–head of the State Security Service’s alleged ties to ‘call centers’.
In fact, in 2022, Liluashvili even sued opposition television channels over reports they had prepared about ‘call centers’.
Lawyer Mari Kapanadze, who represented TV Formula in court, said that Liluashvili’s lawsuit was one of the first cases in Georgia to lay the groundwork for baseless defamation lawsuits against the media, known as SLAPPs.
Liluashvili ultimately won the case at all three levels of the court system.
In addition to the television companies Formula and Pirveli, he also sued journalist Levan Khabeishvili.
“He went after TV Formula and Mtavari, as well as Levan Khabeishvili, claiming: ‘How can you accuse me of protecting ‘call centers’? That’s defamation.’ At the time, the justice system acted with incredible speed, and the case was concluded at all three instances within a year and a few months — of course, in Liluashvili’s favor,” wrote lawyer Mari Kapanadze.
