The former deputy chair of the Georgian Roads Department, Levan Kupatashvili, has been detained as part of a criminal case opened in connection with the collapse of a bridge on the Samtredia–Grigoleti highway in 2023. Three managers from an Azerbaijani company and one international expert have also been charged, in absentia.
The bridge was under construction when it collapsed on 21 February 2023. At the time, the Roads Department reported that flooding along the River Rioni had damaged the bridge’s eighth pier, but that they would study any additional damages once the water level dropped. No one was injured as a result of the incident.
The Prosecutor General’s Office announced the new criminal case on Monday, stating that they had initiated charges against five individuals on ‘abuse of official authority, preparation and use of a false official document, fraudulent appropriation of a large amount of funds, and embezzlement of a large amount of money through abuse of official position’.
According to their investigation, in 2018, an agreement was signed between the Roads Department and the Azerbaijani construction company Akkord to build a 11.5 kilometre section of the Samtredia–Grigoleti highway, including bridge crossings. The supervision of the project was meant to be carried out by a joint consortium made up of four international companies, who in turn were supervised on site by the Roads Department.
However, the Prosecutor General’s Office claimed that during the construction of the bridge, no authorised experts from the supervision company were present in Georgia, which meant no supervisory functions were carried out, a fact known to the Roads Department.
‘Despite the above, an expert from an international company, who was not in Georgia, still confirmed the acts of work performed, which were forged and drawn up by representatives of the construction company, and which were also signed by the then Deputy Chair of the Roads Department, Levan Kupatashvili’, the Prosecutor General’s Office stated.
They added that this expert was allegedly paid over ₾1.1 million ($430,000), while the project implementing company in turn received over ₾3.8 million ($1.4 million) ‘for the unfinished and poorly executed works, which ultimately resulted in the collapse of the bridge’.
‘An additional ₾12 million ($4.4 million) was spent on further restoration work, resulting in a total of more than $16 million ($5.9 million) in material damage to the state budget’, the Prosecutor General’s Office stated.
Kupatashvili faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted, while those charged in absentia face a maximum of nine years in prison.
The Prosecutor’s Office said they were requesting pre-trial detention for all the accused, adding that the investigation into the case was ongoing.
The investigation is the latest in a series of corruption probes into former Georgian Dream officials, including ex-Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, who was charged with laundering roughly $6.5 million in ill-gotten gains earlier in October.
At the end of October, the home of former Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze was raided by Georgian authorities and his ex-deputy Koba Gabunia arrested as part of a case involving over ₾9.3 million ($3.5 million) in funds that were allegedly ‘fraudulently acquired’.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
