Ex-deputy health minister Gudushauri arrested over alleged abuse of office

Ilia Gudushauri, former deputy minister of Georgia’s Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons, Labor, Health and Social Affairs and chair of the ministry’s procurement tender commission, has been arrested on suspicion of abusing his official powers, the Financial Ministry’s Investigative Service said on Tuesday.

At a briefing, Deputy Head of the Investigative Service Guga Tavberidze said that in September 2022 the ministry announced a tender to purchase emergency medical transport vehicles, with the ultimate beneficiary being the Emergency Situations Coordination and Urgent Aid Center. Three companies participated, and the winning bid offered the lowest price of 8,525,876 GEL.

Tavberidze said the tender was cancelled on Gudushauri’s “unlawful instructions,” and a new tender was issued on 10 May 2023 with conditions “tailored for a pre-selected company,” preventing other firms from participating. The pre-selected company was paid 2,138,196 GEL “without justification,” he added, causing “significant harm” to the state’s legal interests.

The Service said it continued to carry out “intensive operational and investigative measures” to identify and hold accountable those involved in alleged corruption and to prevent further incidents.