The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) says it has charged eight individuals, including former Georgian Railway Director General David Peradze, in connection with an alleged large-scale corruption and fraud scheme involving state-owned assets.
The agency claims the group fraudulently appropriated 22,120 tons of scrap metal belonging to Georgian Railway between 2020 and 2021 and later sold it through intermediary companies after allegedly falsifying documentation to conceal its origin.
The SSSG alleges that 22,120 tons of scrap metal belonging to Georgian Railway were fraudulently misappropriated and later sold to Rustavi-based company Geostyle for 17.4 million GEL.
Investigators allege that Peradze organized the scheme in 2019 while serving as head of Georgian Railway and involved several company officials and private business representatives. The SSSG claims the group manipulated procurement procedures, removed metal without proper accounting and created false tax documentation to give the material a legal appearance.
The agency says eight people have been arrested and charged, while two additional suspects will be charged in absentia and placed on a wanted list.
The investigation also concerns a separate railway repair contract signed in 2022 between Georgian Railway and Raveldi. The SSSG alleges that acceptance documents contained inflated figures for rail welding works, resulting in the contractor receiving an additional 403,844 GEL.
The suspects face charges including fraud committed by an organized group, money laundering, document forgery and abuse of official position.
The SSSG says the alleged offenses carry prison sentences of between nine and 12 years.
