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Day: July 6, 2025
Giorgi Ramishvili, a prominent Georgian businessman and founder of the Silk Road Group, was arrested on July 6, with police claiming he was carrying a firearm in his hand luggage at the departures terminal of Tbilisi International Airport.
Law enforcement officers “seized a firearm, a magazine, and cartridges while examining [Ramishvili’s] hand luggage through a scanner,” the Georgian Interior Ministry reported late on July 6, hours after initial reports of his arrest.
According to the Ministry, the firearm was registered in Ramishvili’s name, but he did not hold a license to carry it. The investigation has been launched under Parts 3 and 4 of Article 236 of the Criminal Code, which concern the illegal carrying and transportation of firearms and ammunition and carry a penalty of up to nine years in prison.
Silk Road Group brings together several major companies, including Silknet, a leading local communications provider. Silknet’s portfolio also includes the introduction of international media products to Georgia, including launching a Georgian broadcast of Euronews and publishing a local issue of National Geographic magazine.
The report of Ramishvili’s arrest comes amid what is seen as mounting pressure on current and former figures in political and business circles close to the ruling Georgian Dream party and its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Former Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze was arrested in June on corruption-related charges, facing up to 12 years in prison. Earlier, Ivanishvili’s former associate Giorgi Bachiashvili, convicted in absentia for allegedly misappropriating cryptocurrency, was arrested after what Bachiashvili argued was his abduction from a foreign land with the direct involvement of State Security Service Head Anri Okhanashvili. In May, the court sentenced businessman Giorgi Chikvaidze and his associate to eight and nine years in prison, respectively, on charges of embezzling funds
Several high-ranking officials, including ministers known to have enjoyed Ivanishvili’s trust, also left their posts over the past few months.
The arrests also come as the Georgian Dream–led parliament advances a legislative package that would bar individuals convicted of financial crimes from leaving the country, even after serving their sentence. The legislation, which has passed two readings and is expected to be adopted during the fall session, introduces what are viewed as Draconian measures to recover embezzled or stolen funds, including from the convict’s relatives. It also prohibits those relatives from providing financial assistance to the offender. The legislation is believed to serve Ivanishvili’s interests to go after those, including former business associates, whom he suspects of misusing his funds.
Two days before Ramishvili’s arrest, GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held a meeting with business representatives. According to the official press release, the meeting touched on “positive trends in the country’s economy and the high economic growth pace.”
More to follow….
Owner of Silknet, Giorgi Ramishvili, arrested in Georgia
On July 6, prominent businessman Giorgi Ramishvili, owner of Silknet – one of Georgia’s largest telecommunications companies – was detained at Tbilisi airport. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that the arrest was made as part of an investigation under Article 236 of the Criminal Code, which concerns the illegal possession and carrying of firearms.
Businessman’s family: “He accidentally placed the firearm in his carry-on luggage”
“During a carry-on luggage inspection at the departure terminal of Tbilisi International Airport, a firearm, its magazine, and ammunition were seized from G.R. It was established that the firearm is registered in his name, but he does not have a license to carry it,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
The detained businessman’s family stated: “This should not be given a political context. It is simply negligence; Giorgi Ramishvili accidentally placed the firearm in his carry-on luggage.”
Charges are expected to be filed on July 7.
Who is Giorgi Ramishvili?
Giorgi Ramishvili is the founder of Silk Road Group. He is also the chairman of the supervisory board of Silknet, which owns the company Euronews Georgia.
Ramishvili was involved in various business projects during the previous government (the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili), the most notable being the construction of Trump Tower and 16 hotels on the Black Sea coast in the Adjara region.
In 2014, when the current ruling party, Georgian Dream, was already in power, Giorgi Ramishvili founded the Society of Friends of the Georgian Armed Forces together with Mikheil Kavelashvili, who is now the Georgian Dream-elected president.
Ramishvili’s name also appeared in the news in 2018 after a scandal between then-Minister of Sports Levan Kipiani and former prosecutor Otar Partskhaladze. Many sources claimed that Ramishvili, who is Partskhaladze’s best man, helped reconcile them.
Ramishvili was previously arrested for illegal possession of weapons in 2005, during Mikheil Saakashvili’s leadership and the rule of the United National Movement party. He was quickly released and later, in 2012, donated 120,000 lari (about $30,000) to that party. That year marked parliamentary elections and a change of power in Georgia, with Georgian Dream coming to rule.
News in Georgia