Former Defense Minister charged with abuse of authority and money laundering

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has charged former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze with abuse of official authority and money laundering committed by a person holding a state office. According to the agency, the charges carry a sentence of up to 12 years in prison.

“As a result of an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Agency of the State Security Service of Georgia, it was established that in 2023, the then Minister of Defense abused his official authority for personal gain and to benefit a relative.

According to the investigation, on the Minister’s instructions, the then Deputy Minister of Defense and the former Head of the Ministry’s Procurement Department, with the assistance of his relative, deliberately created a non-competitive environment during the procurement of medical equipment for a military hospital. As a result, through fictitious transactions, the cost of the equipment was artificially inflated. Equipment worth 2,606,272 GEL was purchased for 3,940,000 GEL, causing property damage of 1,333,728 GEL to the Ministry of Defense.

To conceal and legitimize the illegal assets, the former Minister took several actions. In January 2025, he and his wife purchased a plot of land in Spain with a house on it for 544,000 euros. Since the origin of the funds was unsubstantiated, a fictitious purchase agreement for real estate in Tskneti was drawn up in 2024 between his wife and a third party. In reality, the property was never sold—the agreement served only to disguise the source of the money transferred abroad.

Furthermore, in March 2025, the former Minister failed to declare the Spanish property in his asset declaration, thereby legalizing 1,593,212 GEL of illegal income.

The detainee has been charged under Article 194, Part 3, Subparagraph “c” and Article 332, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (abuse of official authority and legalization of illegal income by a state or political official). The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 12 years in prison,” the statement reads.

The Prosecutor’s Office announced it will apply to the court to seek imprisonment as a preventive measure. The investigation is ongoing under the State Security Service.