PM Kobakhidze: Former PM landing in prison is uncomfortable, but no letters or statements can cover up corruption

“It is uncomfortable when a former prime minister ends up in prison on specific charges. Garibashvili created this discomfort for our team,” stated Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze during a press briefing.

When asked whether Irakli Garibashvili’s prison letters and public statements were linked to Mamuka Mdinaradze’s departure from politics, the Head of Government dismissed any connection between the two matters.

“If you truly believe that Mamuka Mdinaradze stepped down from politics because of Garibashvili’s ramblings, that is your own misconception,” Kobakhidze remarked.

The Prime Minister stressed that corruption is profoundly damaging and that once formal charges are brought and subsequently substantiated, no amount of public commentary can erase the record.

“It is genuinely uncomfortable when a former prime minister lands in prison under specific charges. That is, of course, a source of discomfort, and Garibashvili created that discomfort for our team. He was imprisoned on corruption charges. Naturally, it would have been far better had he avoided such activities in the past, which would have spared him this current discomfort.

I reiterate one thing above all: corruption is insidious. Once corruption charges are proven, you cannot simply wipe the slate clean with public statements or letters from prison. Everyone ought to take responsibility for their own past conduct. Corruption is wrong, and everyone must understand that. Consequently, no one can cover up corruption with letters or public declarations.

Let me repeat: despite the wave of public claims and statements, the government operates with such absolute integrity that not a single one of these attempts has succeeded. The team operates with such absolute integrity, first and foremost under the stewardship of Bidzina Ivanishvili, that such allegations have never had the slightest effect. The sole reason is that this team, under Bidzina Ivanishvili’s leadership, operates impeccably,” Irakli Kobakhidze declared.