Jailed Ex-PM Garibashvili Charged With New Bribery Count Carrying 11-15 Years

Prosecutors personally presented Irakli Garibashvili with a new corruption charge alleging he took GEL 750,000 in cash from then-Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze as his share of an inflated 2021-2024 Defense Ministry procurement scheme, in which equipment worth GEL 11.5 million was billed at GEL 18.5 million via three non-competitive classified contracts tied to businessman Zurab Tukvadze's Gori Military Hospital tender. The charge — taking a particularly large bribe as part of a group while holding political office — carries 11 to 15 years and comes days after Garibashvili's first public break with Ivanishvili, accusing the government of pressuring him into an earlier guilty plea. His lawyers say he denies guilt and will contest the case; his family calls it retaliation for speaking out.