Former Georgian security chief sentenced to 13 years for multiple bribery schemes

The Tbilisi City Court handed former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili a 13-year prison sentence after convicting him of several bribery offenses. According to the prosecution, Liluashvili accepted a $1 million payment from Turkish investor Çağatay Ülker through then First Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze to influence a wind-farm memorandum. In a separate 2022 case, he allegedly demanded and received ₾1.5 million from a company representative for assistance with gas-ification tenders, again using Mikautadze as an intermediary.

Prosecutors also linked him to fraudulent call-centre schemes that netted roughly $1.3 million, a venture shared with his cousin Andria Liluashvili, who is already serving a 12-year term. A fourth allegation concerns providing protection to former kindergarten-agency director Kakha Gvantseladze in return for bribes. Liluashvili, who was detained in December 2025, maintains his innocence, and his counsel contended that the case lacked concrete proof, citing reliance on a disputed testimony from Mikautadze. The sentencing follows a broader anti-corruption drive that has also convicted former Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili and Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze.