Givi Jibladze, who was summoned as a witness in the case against Eliso Kiladze, founder of “Qronika+“, said during a closed court hearing that “Irakli Garibashvili is a person who provided protection call centres.” Journalists are not allowed to attend the closed hearing. The information was provided to journalists by a lawyer.
“He said that […] when Garibashvili became prime minister, he ‘pushed aside’ the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance, and Garibashvili took control of these call centres,” said Natia Korkotadze, one of Eliso Kiladze’s lawyers.
According to the lawyer, Jibladze has also provided this information to investigators, but Garibashvili has not been questioned about it.
“I didn’t say that,” Givi Jibladze told TV Pirveli when he was leaving the courthouse, in response to questions about the matter.
Netgazeti is seeking comment from Irakli Garibashvili’s lawyer and will update the story if further information becomes available.
It is not yet known whether another criminal case will be opened against Garibashvili.
Garibashvili is currently facing two criminal cases: bribery and the legalization of illicit income. He has admitted to the latter charge and entered into a plea agreement, under which he is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
As for the bribery case, the former leader of Georgian Dream and former prime minister was charged on August 24 with accepting an especially large bribe by a group acting pursuant to a prior agreement. He denies the charge and plans to fight it in court.
The founder of Qronika+ has been detained in connection with a case involving fraudulent call centres. Her case was separated from the cases against the other nine defendants and is being heard as a separate proceeding. Kiladze denies the charges and says the case against her is revenge by Mamuka Mdinaradze. The proceedings are closed, meaning the media cannot independently observe what takes place in court.
Givi Jibladze himself is also charged alongside Eliso Kiladze in the fraudulent call-centre case, although he remains at liberty on bail.
Other defendants include former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze; brothers Davit and Giorgi Mikadze, who are accused of the murder of Merab Jangveladze; Irakli Sekhniashvili; and others. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, defendants Givi Jibladze, Ben Anor, Tornike Janelidze and Giorgi Kamladze cooperated with the investigation and not only admitted to the crimes they had committed but also made a substantial contribution to uncovering the transnational crime. The court released them on bail.
