The recent B2B meetings held in Baku between leading companies from Azerbaijan and the Baltic nations, including Finland, Latvia, and Estonia, mark a pivotal moment in Eurasian economic diplomacy. Organized under the umbrella of the “LEF Network Azerbaijan” project’s sixth trade mission, this initiative is more than just a networking event; it is a strategic blueprint for long-term institutional cooperation between dynamic economies with complementary strengths.
Day: October 23, 2025
The Prosecutor’s Office said Andria Liluashvili, an associate of former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili, has been arrested on charges of laundering a particularly large amount of money, a day after the Office announced the arrest of another Liluashvili associate, Koba Khundadze. Both arrests come amid a widening investigation targeting former senior officials and their associates. The two face nine to 12 years in prison if convicted.
The Prosecutor’s Office’s Beka Kvitsiani said during an October 23 briefing that authorities are “intensively continuing the investigation into persons who may have had criminal connections with Andria Liluashvili.” The ongoing probe also covers potential breach of Article 339 prima of the Criminal Code, which addresses influence peddling (trading in influence).
“The investigation is also continuing for the purpose of identifying other persons involved in organized criminal activity and conducting appropriate legal procedures,” Kvitsiani concluded.
The arrest is part of a broader investigation launched after authorities searched the homes of former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Grigol Liluashvili, former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, and eight of their associates on October 17, seizing millions of dollars in cash and valuables.
On October 22, the Prosecutor’s Office announced the detention of another associate of Grigol Liluashvili, Koba Khundadze, on similar money-laundering charges. The office said authorities seized USD 1.3 million in cash, stored in 94 envelopes, from Khundadze’s residence.
Late on the same day, the State Security Service said that ex-PM Irakli Garibashvili had been questioned, “fully cooperated with the investigation,” and “admitted to the fact of receiving illicit income throughout the years.” The SSSG official added that the decision on charges and pretrial measures will be announced in the coming days.
The ongoing investigation follows a wave of resignations, prosecutions, and arrests involving former Georgian Dream officials and business allies. While authorities have justified the crackdown as part of anti-corruption efforts, critics have characterized it as an internal purge and an act of personal retribution by Georgian Dream patron and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.
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Georgian Dream–elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili has appointed Giorgi Modebadze as a new judge of the Constitutional Court, days after Judge Irine Imerlishvili resigned and amid a looming constitutional appeal from the ruling party to ban opposition groups.
Modebadze, 37, has served as First Deputy to Georgian Dream Education Minister Givi Mikanadze since November 2024. Before joining the ministry, he held several administrative positions at the Tbilisi City Court, including serving as the court manager. Modebadze holds a Master’s degree in Law (2016–2018) from the Georgian Technical University.
Modebadze’s appointment follows the October 17 resignation of Judge Irine Imerlishvili, who had a record of dissenting opinions in politically sensitive cases in the Constitutional Court, widely seen as loyal to the ruling party. Imerlishvili left the court eleven months before her 10-year term was due to expire, as Georgian Dream prepares an appeal to ban opposition parties. She later explained to RFE/RL’s Georgian Service that she left to take a new position as rector of Batumi International University (BIU).
Georgia’s Constitutional Court is composed of nine judges appointed for ten-year terms: three by the President, three elected by Parliament with a three-fifths majority, and three appointed by the Supreme Court.
Georgian Dream leaders say the appeal to ban opposition parties, based on a voluminous report by the GD parliamentary investigative commission that examined alleged crimes of former officials, will be submitted by the end of this week and will name about ten parties for banning.
Critics say that while Georgian Dream targets groups it calls the “collective UNM,” the appeal could end up encompassing the entire opposition.
In parallel, the Georgian Dream Parliament last week fast-tracked amendments extending political bans to individuals “associated” with parties declared unconstitutional, stripping them of their passive voting rights, including the right to found or join political parties, run in elections, or hold public office.
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