A high-ranking government official has been detained in Georgia in connection with an espionage case.

Giorgi Udzilauri, who until recently headed the public relations department of the Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, has been detained on charges of espionage. He previously worked for the Cartu Group, owned by Bidzina Ivanishvili.

As reported by Caucasian Knot, at the end of April, officers of the Counterintelligence Department detained a Georgian citizen for espionage for foreign intelligence services, and two others were charged in absentia.

The Counterintelligence Department of the State Security Service has detained a Georgian citizen on charges of espionage, First Deputy Head of the Department Lasha Maghradze announced at a briefing today. According to him, the official in question is a high-ranking official in a government agency.

The arrest of a suspect in the collection of information for foreign intelligence services was, as Maghradze noted, the result of "several months of counterintelligence activities." The official acted "against the interests of the country" by exploiting his current official position, as well as his previous positions and personal connections in various agencies.

"The detainee had systematic contacts with a representative of a foreign intelligence service, organized at a high level of secrecy. The meetings were planned using encrypted two-way communication and were held in various locations," Maghradze emphasized.

The information transmitted to the foreign intelligence service included classified data related to current political and economic processes in Georgia, the situation in law enforcement agencies and security structures, and information about ethnic and religious minorities.

Mahradze also stated that the detainee, on the instructions of the foreign intelligence service representative, worked to create information platforms, attract media representatives, and use this network to obtain intelligence information, including on countries in the region.

"The investigation into the case is being conducted under Part 1 of Article 314 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for a sentence of imprisonment for a term of eight to 12 years," the representative was quoted as saying. Georgian State Security Service Interpressnews.

The Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance confirmed the arrest of Giorgi Udzilauri, who headed the ministry's public relations department, on charges of espionage. The detainee spied for a European country, Rustavi2 television reported, citing its sources.

Giorgi Udzilauri previously served as the head of the public relations department at Bidzina Ivanishvili's Cartu Group, Tabula reported.