Prosecutor General: “millions spent” from state budget for “luxuries” for imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili

It is a “proven fact” that “millions were spent” from the Georgian state budget for “luxuries” for Mikheil Saakashvili, Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze said on Friday in comments on charges against the imprisoned former President.

Shotadze was commenting on the charge of embezzlement of state funds by Saakashvili during his time in Government, one of the court cases brought against the now-imprisoned politician.

“Millions were spent on cosmetic procedures for Saakashvili’s friends at luxury resorts in Thailand, as well as to satisfy his culinary fantasies when chefs were brought in from abroad”, Shotadze said.

The Prosecutor General said “any public servant who incurs such expenditures” and “misappropriates” state budget expenditures would “certainly be brought to justice” and will “have to be held accountable”.

Saakashvili, now a citizen of Ukraine, had been found guilty of abuse of power in two cases in absentia in 2018. Imprisoned following his clandestine return to Georgia ahead of the 2021 municipal elections in the country, he now faces additional charges including illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal, and illegal border crossing.