Former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who is currently in prison, says that he received a letter in prison, allegedly sent on the instructions of Bidzina Ivanishvili, offering him a deal to take responsibility for a new corruption case.
Garibashvili considers the demand a humiliating and degrading act and appears to be preparing to reject it.
“This letter was sent to me on the instructions of Bidzina Ivanishvili. I tried everything and did everything I could to avoid taking this step, but unfortunately, they left me no choice but to stand up to this disgraceful evil! To this ruthless cruelty, oppression/injustice, and the dirty plan to destroy me and my family!
Tomorrow I will release a lengthy letter and tell the public my truth!
From this day forward, Bidzina Ivanishvili and the entire government bear full responsibility for the safety of me and my family,” Irakli Garibashvili writes.
Garibashvili, who served twice as prime minister under Ivanishvili, has been in prison since January of this year.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia reached a plea agreement with Garibashvili, under which the former prime minister was sentenced to five years in prison. He was also fined GEL 1 million as an additional penalty. Cash obtained as a result of criminal activity, as well as money seized during a search of his home, will also be confiscated in favor of the state.
Irakli Garibashvili, a two-time prime minister under Georgian Dream who also served at different times as interior minister and defense minister, was charged on October 24, 2025, with the legalization of illicit income (money laundering), accompanied by the receipt of income in an especially large amount (Article 194, Paragraph 3(c) of the Criminal Code). The offense carries a prison sentence of nine to 12 years, but under the plea agreement he was sentenced to five years in prison.
According to a statement released by Garibashvili today, August 17, he is being offered a deal to take responsibility for a new case, with assurances that this would not increase the length of his prison sentence.
“The ‘supporters’ like Dito Chubinidze and Irma Inashvili, as well as the campaigns organized on social media, have raised very serious suspicions and caused us serious damage. Very intensive work is underway on several cases, the likely outcome of which will be corruption charges. Therefore, we have two options for how to proceed:
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Fight the cases seriously and see them through to the end.
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(The second option was offered to us by them as a compromise solution) — admit to one of the cases (take responsibility for it ourselves), with everything to be settled through an agreement, including the admission of guilt, witnesses corroborating the charges, and so on. In this case, they are offering us a plea agreement for the same five-year term. In other words, as they explain it to me, the sentences would be absorbed into one another, leaving the five-year sentence unchanged. After being released, you must stay out of politics, and if you ‘decide to betray them,’ the corruption charge that you will have admitted to will serve as an insurance mechanism to make sure you do not even think about returning to politics,” the letter says. Garibashvili says he received the letter on Ivanishvili’s instructions.
Irma Inashvili, a former Georgian MP and leader of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, also commented on the statement in a Facebook post:
“I have never hidden the fact that Irakli Garibashvili was my comrade-in-arms and friend, and I do not turn my back on my friends — so I still consider him my friend today. I have never abandoned any of my friends, and I will not abandon him either. But let me state this clearly: I have never planned or organized any campaigns on social media, nor have I ever carried them out. I do not need such campaigns; I already express my views publicly, in my own name!
I expose and fight against Kobakhidze, and I reiterate that he is a false informant, a slanderer, the author of Soviet-style ‘denunciation’ laws, and someone who is damaging Georgian politics in every possible way. He has sown enormous hatred and aggression both inside the country and beyond its borders. I expose Kobakhidze not because I want to harm anyone or undermine any process! Kobakhidze must go so that peace can be restored in the country!
As for Garibashvili’s statement, let us wait until tomorrow. I will comment on all the issues!” Inashvili wrote.
