Key facts
- Grigol Liluashvili, former chief of Georgia's State Security Service, was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
- Liluashvili was found guilty of taking bribes and benefiting from scam call centers.
- He received a total of $1.3 million from these activities.
- Liluashvili served as head of the State Security Service from 2019 to 2025.
- He was arrested in December.
- Former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili received a five-year prison sentence in January after pleading guilty to money laundering charges.
A court in Georgia sentenced Grigol Liluashvili, the former chief of the State Security Service, to 13 years in prison on Wednesday on corruption charges, according to Interpress news agency. Liluashvili, who served from 2019 until 2025, was found guilty of multiple cases of taking bribes and benefiting from scam call centers operated from within Georgia, totaling $1.3 million. He denied the charges.
Liluashvili's arrest in December followed raids that also targeted a two-time former prime minister and an ex-prosecutor general. These individuals were close allies of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, who is widely considered the country's de facto leader. In January, former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili pleaded guilty to large-scale money laundering charges and received a five-year prison sentence.
Georgia, a nation of 3.7 million people, has seen its ties with the West deteriorate amid accusations of an authoritarian turn, particularly since the war in Ukraine began. The Georgian government is currently pursuing prosecutions against former members of its elite while simultaneously cracking down on opposition figures and parties, seeking to ban the three main opposition parties outright. Georgians have held regular street demonstrations since the Georgian Dream party secured another term in office following the October 2024 parliamentary election.