Juansher Burchuladze arrested

The court rejected the defense's motion for bail and placed former Georgian Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze under arrest in a case of abuse of power and legalization of income.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, after detaining former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze in a case of abuse of power and legalization of income, security forces sent him to the hospital. He is said to have suffered a concussion prior to his arrest.

Juansher Burchuladze (also referred to as Jumber) was dismissed as Defense Minister in February 2024 when Irakli Kobakhidze, who had become Prime Minister, was forming a new government following the resignation of Irakli Garibashvili's cabinet.

Former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, who is accused of abuse of office and money laundering, has been sentenced to imprisonment. Judge Eka Barbakadze granted the prosecution's motion.

Earlier, the defense filed a motion for bail, but the judge did not agree, Interpressnews reported today.

Burchuladze is charged with "legalization of illegal income using official position" and "abuse of power" (Part 3 of Article 194 and Part 2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Georgia). He faces imprisonment for a term of 9 to 12 years. The case in which Burchuladze is involved concerns the embezzlement of budget funds during the purchase of MRI equipment for a military hospital. The investigation believes that officials deliberately created a non-competitive environment, inflated the contract price and embezzled more than 1.3 million lari.

In January 2025, the Burchuladze family, in order to conceal the source of the property on an especially large scale, purchased a plot of land in Spain for 544,000 euros, along with a residential building located on it. In total, according to the State Security Service, the former Minister of Defense legalized 1,593,212 GEL of illegal/unjustified income.

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