Purge continues as Georgia’s ex-Infrastructure Minister’s home is searched and his deputy arrested
The home of former Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze has been raided by Georgian authorities and his ex-deputy Koba Gabunia has been arrested as the purge of former and current Georgian Dream officials continues.
Gabunia has been charged with abuse of official authority by a state political figure as part of a case involving over ₾9.3 million ($3.5 million) in funds that were allegedly ‘fraudulently acquired’.
Ia Akhalaia, deputy head of the Finance Ministry’s Investigation Service, said on Thursday that Gabunia had orchestrated the approval of ₾11 million ($4 million) for advance payments earmarked for the reconstruction of a kindergarten.
Gabunia allegedly served to financially benefit from the contract being awarded to the company in question, Lagi Capital LLC, which had previously misused advance payments for a different project in 2023, Akhalaia said.
If convicted, Gabunia and executives from the company, who have also been detained, could face up to 12 years in prison.
Separately, Karseladze’s home was also searched, apparently in connection with the same case.
Both Gabunia and Karseladze, who gained media attention for referring to Georgian Dream’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili ahead of the 2024 elections as a ‘saviour from God’, resigned in April 2025.
The announcement of the investigation is the latest in a series of probes and criminal cases related to corruption that have been launched against former Georgian Dream officials, including ex-Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, who was charged laundering roughly $6.5 million in ill-gotten gains earlier in October.
OC Media
