All five defendants in the Samtredia–Grigoleti highway bridge collapse case have been sentenced to imprisonment as a preventive measure, following the court’s decision to grant the prosecutor’s office motion.

Of the five accused, one—former Deputy Chairman of the Roads Department, Levan Kupatashvili—has been arrested, while four others have been charged in absentia.

Kupatashvili’s lawyer had offered the court a bail of 50,000 GEL, but the judge denied the request, ordering his detention instead.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, in 2018 an agreement was signed between the Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure and the construction company Akkord for the construction of an 11.5-kilometer section of the highway and its bridge crossings. Supervision of the works was assigned to a joint consortium of four international companies, while daily on-site oversight was the responsibility of the Roads Department.

Investigators allege that no authorized experts from the supervision company were present in Georgia during the construction period, meaning the supervision function was effectively not carried out—a fact known to the Roads Department.

“Despite this, an expert from an international company who was not in Georgia confirmed the completion acts of the works, which were forged by representatives of the construction company and also signed by then–Deputy Chairman of the Roads Department, Levan Kupatashvili.

Based on these forged documents, the absent international expert was paid GEL 1,172,539 for services that were never rendered, while the construction company fraudulently obtained GEL 3,859,678 for unfinished and substandard work that ultimately led to the collapse of the bridge. The government later spent over GEL 12 million on restoration works, resulting in total damages exceeding GEL 16 million to the state budget,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.

Kupatashvili has been charged with abuse of office, large-scale embezzlement, and abuse of official authority, crimes punishable by up to 11 years in prison.

The director of the construction company, the project manager, and the chief engineer of the international consortium were charged in absentia with abuse of office, large-scale embezzlement, and forgery of official documents, carrying penalties of up to 9 years in prison.