Day: June 21, 2025
The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) arrested former Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze on money laundering and power abuse charges. He faces nine to twelve years in prison.
Mikautadze “illegally used official authority, connections, and experience for personal gain to grant unfair advantages to various individuals in the energy sector,” the SSSG spokesperson said in a June 21 statement. The spokesperson noted that “in exchange for providing illegal assistance to these individuals, [Mikautadze] received shares in energy companies (HPPs), which he effectively owned, although the shares were officially registered in the names of trusted individuals,” resulting in “particularly large income.”
Mikautadze held several senior government positions between 2017 and 2024. Most recently, he served as First Deputy Economy Minister under Levan Davitashvili from 2022 to 2024, and as Deputy Economy Minister under Natia Turnava in 2021-2022 — both during the tenure of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. Earlier, he held the offices of Deputy Economy Minister in 2018 and Deputy Energy Minister from 2017 to 2018.
The SSSG further said that during his office at the Economy Ministry, Mikautadze “systematically abused official power against public interests, for his personal or others’ gain or advantage,” which “substantially damaged state interest.” According to the agency, “he illegally used his position and related powers to register various individuals – sometimes fictitiously – in state or private organizations, as a result of which he received material benefits and property wealth.”
The SSSG stated that Mikautadze’s family wealth increased by “millions” of Georgian lari following his tenure in public offices. The security service further alleged that Mikautadze likely received additional income that was not reflected in his asset declarations.
Various journalistic investigations have earlier alleged Mikautadze’s involvement in elite corruption schemes, noting that his acquisition of state-owned land, businesses, apartments, residential buildings, cars, and cryptocurrency assets appeared disproportionate to his official income. A 2024 investigation by the opposition-leaning channel TV Pirveli described Mikautadze as a “close friend” of then-PM Irakli Garibashvili, who recently quit both the ruling party and politics altogether.
The arrest comes as the ruling Georgian Dream party is working on legislation that would restrict individuals convicted of financial crimes from leaving the country, even after serving their prison sentences, unless they fully compensate victims for the damage caused. The bill is expected to pass its first reading soon.
GD MP Mamuka Mdinaradze confirmed to journalists on June 11 that the legislation was, “among others”, inspired by the case of currently imprisoned Giorgi Bachiashvili, a former close associate of Georgian Dream founder and honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili. Bachiashvili was sentenced in absentia to 11 years in prison on charges of embezzling a large amount of cryptocurrency and money from Ivanishvili and laundering it. The verdict was delivered on March 10, about a week after Bachiashvili reported that he had fled the country.
On May 27, however, SSSG reported arresting Bachiashvili near Georgia’s “green border” with Armenia and Azerbaijan. Bachiashvili and his international legal team have claimed he was abducted from a foreign country, with the SSSG head Anri Okhanashvili allegedly aboard the aircraft involved in the abduction.
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