Former Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili has been charged with large-scale money laundering, after prosecutors accused him of secretly engaging in business dealings worth $6.5mn while in office.

At an October 24 briefing, prosecutor general Giorgi Gvarakidze said Garibashvili “pleaded fully guilty” and had “covertly received particularly large sums of income of illegal origin” during his tenure as defence minister (2019–2021) and prime minister (2021–2024).

The ex-official was questioned by Georgia’s Anti-Corruption Agency on October 22. The country’s State Security Service noted Garibashvili had “fully cooperated” with the investigation, as cited by Civil.ge.

During a hearing on October 24, the Tbilisi City Court granted prosecutors’ request for a GEL1mn (roughly $368,000) bail, ordered Garibashvili to surrender his passport, and barred him from leaving the country.

He faces up to 12 years in prison under Article 194 of the Criminal Code.

Prosecutors allege Garibashvili falsified asset declarations by claiming to have received large gifts from family members to disguise illegal business income. They also accuse him of purchasing cars and company shares through relatives to launder funds. A search of his and other former officials’ homes on October 17 reportedly uncovered $6.5mn in cash.

“Irakli Garibashvili converted most of the unexplained funds into foreign currency to conceal their true nature and source,” prosecutors noted, as cited by JamNews.

A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for December 16. Garibashvili told reporters after the court session that he had “not testified against anyone.”

Garibashvili’s indictment is part of a wider probe into former Georgian Dream officials, including ex-State Security Service head Grigol Liluashvili and former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, whose properties were also searched.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze defended the investigation as proof of the government’s “uncompromising stance on corruption”. Opposition figures, meanwhile, have describe the case as a politically motivated purge by Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Garibashvili, once Ivanishvili’s closest protégé, led the government twice (2013–2015, 2021–2024) before resigning in April 2024 amid reports of internal party rifts.

A year later he announced his resignation as GD party chair and exit from politics entirely, though stated he remained a committed supporter and “soldier” of the “ruling team” and Georgia.