State Security Service (SSG) says United National Movement leader Levan Khabeishvili has been arrested on charges of publicly promising bribes to law enforcement officers.
At a special briefing, the SSG stated that Khabeishvili’s actions bore all the elements of a crime under Article 339, Part 2 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, and he was detained as a defendant based on a court ruling. The offense carries a prison sentence of 4 to 7 years.
The investigation alleges that Khabeishvili publicly promised $200,000 to members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Special Tasks Department if they refused to carry out their official duties or use legally permitted special means during protests against the government. He also allegedly offered the same sum to officers who provided him with confidential information and materials related to their work, as well as to those who refused to participate in training and drills.
Khabeishvili is quoted as saying that such payments were justified because “any method should be used to change the government.”
The SSG added that the scheme was “continuous and systematic” in nature, fitting the legal definition of bribery under the Criminal Code.
Alongside Khabeishvili, UNM member Murtaz Zodelava was also detained. SSG says during Khabeishvili’s arrest, he handed his mobile phone to Zodelava, who then attempted to flee with the device. In the process, Zodelava allegedly resisted Anti-Corruption Agency officers and used force against one of them. His actions are being prosecuted under Article 353 of the Criminal Code, which carries a penalty of 2 to 5 years in prison.
The SSG emphasized that it will continue “active and priority operational and investigative measures to detect and prevent crimes directed against the Georgian state that bear a corrupt nature.”
Related story: UNM leaders detained: Khabeishvili arrested, Zodelava taken to SSG
