Georgia Jails Ex-PM Garibashvili for Five Years

Georgia’s former prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili, was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday on charges of money laundering, the prosecutor’s office announced.

According to prosecutors, authorities discovered and seized $6.5 million during a search of Garibashvili’s apartment, The Caspian Post reports, citing Georgian media.

The investigation found that he had received illegal income over several years.

Following anti-corruption raids carried out in October at the homes and offices of a number of former officials, Garibashvili admitted to obtaining illicit funds and reached a plea deal with prosecutors to limit his prison sentence.

In a statement, the prosecutor’s office said it had “signed a plea agreement with former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, under which he was sentenced to five years in prison.”

Garibashvili was accused of laundering income between 2019 and 2024. He served two terms as Georgia’s prime minister, first from 2013 to 2015 and later from 2021 to 2024.