Georgian Defence Ministry sues wanted ex-defence minister Kezerashvili, demands compensation of €5 mln for embezzlement

The Ministry of Defence of Georgia is filing a lawsuit against the former defence minister under the United National Movement (UNM) government David Kezerashvili and former head of the State Procurement Department Alexander Ninua, demanding compensation of €5 million for embezzlement, announces the Ministry of Defence.

Kezerashvili, who holds a 51% stake in opposition-minded Formula TV channel, was sentenced in absentia for embezzling over €5 million on September 7, after the Supreme Court overrode the 2017 acquittal ruling by the Court of Appeals. 

The sum should have been spent on a military exercise back in 2008, when Kezerashvili was in office.

The Defence Ministry said today it is demanding compensation for the damages caused to the ministry by Kezerashvili and Ninua’s 'criminal activity'. Slamming the UNM administration, the Defence Ministry said the embezzlement 'clearly reflects the unconscientious attitude' of the previous government toward the state budget.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that the court found Kezerashvili guilty of funding 'unfounded, generally incomprehensible programmes'.

If I am not mistaken €5 million was transferred to an offshore company and no service was provided and no weapons arrived. There are many such cases and, of course, the investigation will give an appropriate answer to all of them", he said.

Kezerashvili’s lawyer Giorgi Gelkhauri said that with the lawsuit the authorities aim to freeze the assets of Formula TV and 'suppress free speech' two days before the October 2 local self-government elections.

Several criminal proceedings have been brought against Kezerashvili since the change of government in Georgia in late 2012. In two of them, heard in Georgian courts, Kezerashvili was convicted in absentia.

Georgia has twice requested Kezerashvili’s extradition from France and the UK. However, the request was declined. 

Kezerashvili denies the charges against him and pledges he will appeal a recent verdict by the Georgian Supreme Court against him in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).