Four arrested in Georgia for alleged fraud, embezzlement of state funds

Georgia’s Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance has detained four individuals for allegedly embezzling a large amount of state funds, assisting in fraud, and producing or using forged official documents. The arrests were carried out in coordination with the Western Georgia Regional Prosecutor’s Office following operational and investigative measures.

According to the Investigation Service, the detained individuals - managers of LLC Construction Company No. 1 - had won a tender announced by the Georgian Technical University in 2020. The project involved the full rehabilitation of the university’s vocational college located in the Samtredia municipality. The total value of the tender was ₾6,632,130.

The company received ₾3,432,520 for work performed; however, the rehabilitation project was never fully completed, and the contract was terminated.

Investigators also established that representatives of the construction company, with the assistance of inspection agency employees, fraudulently obtained ₾661,163 allocated for the project by preparing and using falsified documentation.

The investigation is ongoing under Articles 180 (3), 25-180 (3), and 362 (2) of the Georgian Criminal Code, which carry penalties of six to nine years of imprisonment.

The Investigation Service said it continues to conduct intensive investigative actions to identify other possible participants and fully uncover the criminal scheme. “Any case of damage caused to the state budget will be met with strict legal response,” the agency pledged.