Borjomi Mayor, City Council Head detained for bribe taking
The Anti-Corruption Department of the State Security Service of Georgia detained Borjomi Mayor Levan Lipartia and Head of City Council Giorgi Gogichaishvili yesterday. Photo: Shot from State Security Service video
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The mayor and the head of Borjomi city council have been detained for bribe taking in the eastern Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti.
The State Security Service of Georgia reported about the detention of Borjomi Mayor Levan Lipartia and Head of Borjomi City Council Giorgi Gogichaishvili yesterday.
Anti-corruption Agency of the State Security Service of Georgia Detained Chairman of Borjomi Municipality City Assembly and Mayor of Borjomi Municipality on the Fact of Bribe-takinghttps://t.co/1vriKDEdME
— SSG (@ssofgeorgia) February 29, 2020
The State Security Service announced that Lipartia demanded 10,500 GEL as bribe from an entrepreneur in return of covering the former's unlawful construction in Bakuriani.
As for Gogichaishvili, he demanded 200,000 GEL in return of lobbying the development regulation plan and issuing construction permit.
On the initial stage, Lipartia had taken 8,000 GEL as bribe, while Gogichaishvili - 20,000 GEL.
An individual, identified only as G.U. who is a friend of Borjomi Mayor Lipartia, was also detained for not reporting the crime to law enforcers.