Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor’s office, received a five-year sentence and a million lari fine for money laundering. The state also confiscated his assets worth millions of dollars.
The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday that it reached a plea agreement with the accused former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. Her statement said that Garibashvili will receive a five-year prison sentence. Radio Sloboda (RFE/RL) reported about it.
- Former Prime Minister Garibashvili entered into a plea agreement.
- He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined one million GEL.
Accused of large-scale money laundering, Garibashvili must also pay a fine of one million lari (approximately 318,538 euros). Money “obtained by criminal activity and seized during the search of his house” will be confiscated by the state.
Money laundering
Without a plea deal, Garibashvili would have faced nine to 12 years in prison.
Georgia’s Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakdze previously stated that while in public office, Garibashvili “secretly and covertly engaged in various business activities” from which large amounts of illegal income flowed and also provided false information in asset declarations.
Security of property
During a search conducted on October 17, 2025, 6.5 million dollars were discovered and seized in Garibashvili’s apartment.
On October 24, 2025, the court ordered Garibashvili to post a bond in the amount of one million lari secured by real estate. He was also banned from leaving the territory of the state.
Anti-corruption intervention
As part of the anti-corruption crackdown, in addition to Garibashvili, other high-ranking representatives of the Georgian Dream government party were also detained. Analysts say this may indicate infighting in the leadership.
The current government, led by Georgian Dream, faces accusations of democratic decay, leaning towards Russia and thwarting Georgia’s bid for EU membership. The government denies these accusations.
Irakli Garibashvili served as the Prime Minister of Georgia twice – in 2021-24 and 2013-15. He was one of billionaire Bidzin Ivanishvili’s closest allies and was also a key figure in launching a crackdown on civil society and critics of the ruling party. In April 2024, he announced his complete retirement from politics because he wanted to devote more time to his family.
