The Prosecutor’s Office has initiated criminal proceedings against five individuals in connection with the collapse of a bridge on the Samtredia–Grigoleti highway on February 21, 2023. The charges include abuse of official authority, preparation and use of forged official documents, fraudulent appropriation of a large amount of funds, and embezzlement of a large sum of money through abuse of official position. Among those charged, the former Deputy Chairman of the Roads Department, Levan Kupatashvili, has been detained, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia announced at a briefing.

As noted during the briefing, an investigation conducted by the Department for Combating Corruption Crimes of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia revealed that 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 Samtredia–Grigoleti road and several bridge crossings. Supervision of the project was assigned to a joint consortium of four international companies, while the Roads Department was responsible for daily on-site monitoring.

“During the project, however, no authorized experts from the supervision company were present in Georgia, meaning that the supervisory function was not actually carried out — a fact known to the Roads Department. Despite this, an expert from the international company, who was not in Georgia, still confirmed the work completion reports, which had been forged by representatives of the construction company and signed by then–Deputy Chairman of the Roads Department, Levan Kupatashvili.

Based on these falsified documents, the international expert who was not present on-site was paid GEL 1,172,539 for services through Kupatashvili. Meanwhile, the project’s implementing company, despite performing incomplete and substandard work that ultimately led to the bridge’s collapse, fraudulently obtained GEL 3,859,678. An additional GEL 12 million was later spent on restoration works, bringing the total material damage to the state budget to over GEL 16 million.

The former Deputy Chairman of the Roads Department, who has been arrested in connection with the case, has been charged with abuse of official position, embezzlement of a large amount of money, and abuse of authority, crimes punishable by up to 11 years in prison. The director of the construction company and project managers have been charged in absentia with abuse of official position, fraudulent appropriation of a large sum, and falsification of documents — offenses punishable by up to nine years in prison.

Additionally, the group leader-engineer of the international consortium has also been charged in absentia with abuse of official position, aiding in fraudulent appropriation, and falsifying documents — also punishable by up to nine years in prison.
The Prosecutor’s Office will apply to the court within the legally established timeframe to request imprisonment as a preventive measure for all accused individuals. The investigation is ongoing to identify other possible crimes committed by additional companies or officials,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.