Prosecutor's Office investigated offences by public servants in 2008-09

UPDATED 04.06.2015:  The process of returning property illegally confiscated by public officials under the previous government will continue, but each case should be studied thoroughly, says Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Garibashvili noted the Government has started the process of returning goods to their owners that were illegally seized by public servants in 2008-09, and a special department within the Prosecutor’s Office had been created for the purpose of solving such cases.

"We had a very difficult job to carry out because thousands of instances took place over the nine years [of the previous government], such as confiscation of businesses, houses or cars. This needs to be studied and sorted out in order to reveal how many citizens have fair complaints,” said Garibashvili.

He also reiterated that what the Chief Prosecutor’s Office announced yesterday was "only part of the scheme” which will see illegally confiscated vehicles returned to their rightful owners.

EARLIER 03.06.2015: Five former public officials have been accused of forced confiscation of private property from Georgian citizens.

The Chief Prosecutor’s Office this afternoon announced it had completed several investigations into unlawful activity of public servants during 2008-09 and had found five cases where former public servants had forced confiscation of private property.

The investigations recovered some seized property, and the goods would soon be returned to their rightful owners, the Office said today.

The investigations were carried out by the recently-created Department of Investigation of Offences Committed in Legal Proceedings. The Department was specifically established earlier this year to investigate crimes committed by public servants where their actions had resulted in citizens’ suffering physical and/or material damage.

Today the Department released information about the cases it had reviewed since its establishment three months ago.

"During this period we reviewed over 1,000 complaints and conducted investigations on 118 criminal cases, during which five public servants were exposed, who worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Prosecution at the time they committed crimes,” said the Prosecutor’s Office.

One of the investigations revealed former Interior Ministry Constitutional Security Department (CSD) high official Konstantine Archaia, who worked in the Imereti region in 2008-2009, systematically extorted businessmen in the region with the help of CSD staff.

In addition, the Department revealed three other cases of illegal property seizure by public servants.

"In all three cases the criminal actions of public officials had similar features and handwriting, which took place under the instruction of their superior officials,” the Prosecution said.

The Department also noted that all unlawfully seized property will be returned to the rightful owners by the mutual efforts of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Economy.

The five accused, including Archaia, will now go before a court of law to determine their guilt.