Finance Ministry Investigation Service charges 14 with improper use of state credit, forgery

The Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia and the country’s Agriculture Ministry have initiated criminal prosecution against 14 individuals for improper use of state credit and manufacture and use of forged documents, the former body said on Wednesday.

The Service said the offenders had received ₾1,421,000 ($527,762) of targeted agricultural credit from banking institutions within the State Preferential Agro Credit project between 2019-2022, with the principal part of the interest financed from the state budget. 

The loans were to be used for agricultural activities, including cultivation of perennial crops and purchase of winery equipment, however the alleged offenders “manufactured forged acts of purchase”, while private auditors “made false conclusions about the alleged targeted use of the loan”, the state body also noted.

The acts caused ₾182,854 ($67,912) in damage to the state budget, the Service said, while adding the “timely” investigative activities had resulted in avoiding an additional ₾293,469 ($108,994) in damage.

The crimes are punishable by five to eight years in prison.