The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office, in collaboration with international law enforcers, solved a transnational crime, having identified money laundering on a particularly large scale. Criminal proceedings have been filed against three individuals and 13 legal entities.

According to the prosecutors, the investigation revealed a Georgian citizen and his accomplices formed an organised criminal group on the territory of a foreign state, intending to illegally gain material benefits in an especially large amount. Members of the organized crime group have perpetrated a variety of particularly serious crimes in different countries, including multi-episode fraud worth hundreds of millions of dollars, money laundering, cybercrime, and official document forgery.

The defendants used their-controlled legal entities to open accounts in Georgian banks, making multiple fictitious bank transactions, and invested illicitly obtained funds in expensive real estate to launder hundreds of millions of dollars and conceal their illegal origin. In addition, members of the crime organisation transferred a large amount of money from their overseas bank accounts to their Georgian bank accounts and conducted numerous vague and fraudulent transactions between company bank accounts.

Furthermore, using the profits of crime, one of the defendants acquired a 21,000 sq. m. property in Kobuleti, a plot of land and the buildings on it, for roughly ₾11,000,000 during the same period. The defendants’ conduct helped to launder $111,000,000 and €2,500,000 of unlawful earnings. Based on court orders, the investigation seized roughly $70 million and €1,760,000 in the defendants’ and their businesses’ bank accounts, as well as 21,000 square metres of investment plots of land and facilities acquired with criminal earnings.

“The prosecutor’s office, in collaboration with international partners, will carry out proper legal proceedings for the confiscation of both money and real assets,” the prosecutor’s office stated. The Prosecutor’s Office informed about filing charges of illicit money laundering that resulted in the receipt of a very large amount of income against individuals. A crime punishable by nine to twelve years in jail. 13 legal entities were charged with laundering fraudulently gained profits in an especially large amount, which carries a penalty of liquidation or denial of the work permit and a fine.

“The struggle against money laundering is one of the key priorities of Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecutor’s office is continuing a thorough investigation with international partners to identify and expose other individuals or legal entities involved in illicit activity,” the investigation concluded.