Friday, April 24, 2026
JusticeNews of the Day

Former Georgian Defence Minister sentenced to ten years in prison

A Tbilisi City Court has handed down a ten-year custodial sentence to Juansher Burchuladze, Georgia’s former Defence Minister, along with a two-year ban from holding public office. Judge Irakli Khuskivadze delivered the verdict this evening.

By order of the court, Burchuladze has also been stripped of his assets, including a plot of land and a house in Spain, as well as a property and parking space in the Daba Tskneti.

Alongside Burchuladze, his former deputy at the Defence Ministry, Giorgi Khaindrava, and Burchuladze’s brother-in-law, Vasil Mkheidze, were each sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment.

The former head of the Defence Ministry’s procurement department, Vladimer Ghudushauri, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors two weeks ago. Under its terms, he received a four-year suspended sentence, a fine of 10,000 lari, and a one-year ban from public service.

Burchuladze had faced charges under Article 194(3)(g) and Article 332(2) of the Criminal Code, covering abuse of official authority and money laundering, offences carrying a sentence of between nine and twelve years. In total, he stood accused of laundering 1,593,212 lari in unlawful and unaccounted income. According to the charges, in 2023, Burchuladze, acting in concert with his deputy, a relative, and the then-head of the Ministry’s procurement department, supplied a military hospital with medical equipment at an inflated price of 3,940,000 lari rather than the actual value of 2,606,272 lari, causing the Ministry a loss of 1,333,728 lari. Furthermore, investigators established that in March 2025, Burchuladze and his wife purchased property in Spain for 544,000 euros. To conceal the true source of these funds and give the transaction an appearance of legitimacy, the couple entered into a fictitious sale agreement with a third party regarding a property in Tskneti.

Ghudushauri and Khaindrava were charged with the large-scale embezzlement of public funds, whilst Mkheidze faced charges of aiding and abetting the same. All were prosecuted on charges of large-scale embezzlement of Defence Ministry funds by an organised group acting in concert and exploiting official positions, as well as influence peddling. These offences are punishable by between seven and eleven years’ imprisonment.

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News of the Day

PM: Government reshuffle aims to ensure tighter coordination between law enforcement agencies

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Economics

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Head of the Revenue Service, Irakli (Dachi) Beraia, discussed the project of a joint management border checkpoint with his Armenian counterpart

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Trump Tower Tbilisi demonstrates that Georgia is carefully chosen investment hub, with nearly two billion dollars at stake

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News of the Day

PM Kobakhidze: Zurab Pataradze will be outstanding and worthy Chairman of Adjara Government

“The Autonomous Republic of Adjara is the most beautiful and one of the most vital regions of our country, and it requires special attention. Its management must be entrusted to reliable hands,” stated Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, when nominating the candidate for the Chairmanship of the Government of Adjara.Kobakhidze also expressed his gratitude to Sulkhan Tamazashvili for his service as the Chairman of the Adjara Government.“Tamazashvili deserves special thanks for his dedicated work. He took a very important position within the Georgian Government, that of Minister of Internal Affairs. I wish him every success in his new role,” added Irakli Kobakhidze.Furthermore, the Prime Minister highlighted Zurab Pataradze’s extensive experience, noting his successful leadership of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara over many years.“Under Zurab Pataradze’s leadership, the foundation was laid for numerous large-scale infrastructure projects. His years in office have been exceptionally successful for Adjara. He is also a distinguished diplomat, especially in recent years. I would like to highlight his tenure as Georgia’s Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was during his ambassadorship that Georgian-Azerbaijani relations entered a new phase, and Zurab Pataradze made a significant personal contribution to this progress. I thank him for his past service and wish him success. He will be a highly respected and worthy Chairman of the Government in Adjara. I am confident that, under his leadership, this beautiful region of our country will achieve remarkable new successes,” the Prime Minister concluded.

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