List of crimes related to criminal bosses expanded
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The Georgian Interior Ministry has stated that the list of crimes in the criminal code related to so-called criminal bosses and their activities has expanded.
The ministry stated that through their initiative the criminal code now considers the following activities criminal offences:
Participating in criminal assemblies called for by criminal bosses.
Support of activities of criminal bosses.
Appeals to criminal bosses “to establish the truth” in certain disputes between individuals.
Earlier, being a criminal boss and having membership in a criminal group was punishable by the Georgian criminal code.
The ministry announced that a couple of days ago four individuals were detained for appealing to a criminal boss and for the support of the institute of criminal bosses. The articles for such crimes equal 3-15 years in prison.
The ministry also announced that two Georgian criminal bosses were detained in Spain last week.
Criminal boss, or thief-in-law, refers to a criminal who is respected, has authority and a high ranking status within the criminal underworld in the former Soviet Union.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has detained five who were involved in a so-called ‘meeting of criminal bosses’.
16,820 individuals were charged in Georgia in 2018, which is a 6.5 per cent increase compared to 2017, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office says in its annual report presented in parliament.
The Georgia Parliament has approved a bill proposed by the Interior Ministry which makes both passive and active participation in street disputes a criminal offence, punishable by up to two years in prison.