A preliminary hearing was held at the Tbilisi City Court regarding a new corruption case against former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. The court is currently reviewing the admissibility of evidence and must decide whether the case should proceed to a trial on the merits. The accused did not appear at the hearing.

Garibashvili has previously stated that he does not intend to attend court proceedings and will instead submit his statements from prison in writing. His defense team plans to file a motion to have the criminal case dismissed.

The Prosecutor’s Office accuses the former prime minister of accepting a bribe of a particularly large amount. According to testimony from former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze and his relative Vasil Mkheidze, Burchuladze received 1.5 million lari in exchange for facilitating government procurement, providing guarantees, and offering protection; he subsequently passed half of that sum—750,000 lari—to Garibashvili.

According to the prosecution, the actions of those involved caused 6.98 million lari in damages to the state. If convicted, Garibashvili faces 11 to 15 years in prison.

Garibashvili’s defense team requested that a public statement made by him be added to the case file. In the statement, he described a letter he allegedly received from Mamuka Mdinaradze, the former head of Georgia’s State Security Service. In August, the former prime minister posted a photograph of the document, claiming it contained pressure for him to confess to the corruption charges—a move intended to prevent his potential return to politics. Mdinaradze denies having sent such a letter to Garibashvili. The court refused to admit the statement, deeming that it did not meet the criteria for the admissibility of evidence.

Garibashvili is already serving a five-year sentence in connection with another case—involving the laundering of illicit proceeds on an especially large scale. As part of a plea agreement, he was also ordered to pay a fine of 1 million lari.