Spectacular downfall of former prime minister who allegedly had $6.5 million in his flat

Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has appeared in court accused of massive money laundering – a shocking turnaround for one of the most trusted allies of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, widely seen as Georgia’s de facto leader.

Prosecutors said they found $6.5m (£4.9m) in cash when investigators raided his home earlier this month.

Garibashvili, 43, served as prime minister twice during the Ivanishvili years – first from 2013-15 and then again from 2021 until January last year.

He has now pleaded guilty to corruption charges that carry a 12-year prison sentence and has been granted bail of 1 million Georgian lari ($368,000; £277,000).

The charges against the former prime minister are the latest in a string of arrests of former government officials.

But the case against Garibashvili is the first of a senior member of Georgia’s governing elite and comes amid the ruling party’s authoritarianism away from the West.

While serving first as defense minister and then as prime minister between 2019 and 2024, he is accused of “covertly and covertly engaging in a wide variety of business activities and in particular obtaining large amounts of illicit proceeds”.

He is accused of laundering this income and falsely declaring the money as gifts from family members.

His lawyer, Amiran Giguashvili, confirmed that his client is cooperating with authorities.

“The court noted that Mr Irakli agrees to the charges, does not hide from the investigation and cooperates,” he told the BBC.

The corruption case marks a dramatic decline for the politician, who worked for Ivanishvili’s companies before entering politics in 2011 as part of the billionaire’s Georgian Dream Party, which has been in power since 2012.

In February 2014, they signed Georgia’s Association Agreement with the European Union.

However, in recent years he has led Georgia’s move away from the EU. He developed a close relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and said NATO expansion was the main cause of the war in Ukraine.

According to Georgian political analyst Ghia Nodia, the fall of the former prime minister reflects Bidzina Ivanishvili’s distrust of his former political appointees.

“Ivanishvili is really the driver, he decided for some reason that there is some kind of treason in his team,” Nodia said.

“At this point, he trusts (current Prime Minister Irakli) Kobakhidze but stops trusting his closest lieutenants, not only Garibashvili, but also (former security chief) Liluashvili and others.”

Meanwhile, Georgia’s political turmoil continues, a year after Georgian Dream contested parliamentary elections the then president refused to recognize.

There have been daily protests since the government announced in November 2024 that it would halt membership talks with the EU, and most opposition leaders are now in prison.

The new laws have targeted civil society, opposition media, and jailed journalists and activists.

“Ivanishvili (feels) under siege,” says Ghia Nodia. “He believes in these crazy deep state conspiracies that the West wants to destroy him with these constant protests in Georgia.”