Six charged with fraudulent appropriation of state maternity leave support funds

The Investigation Service of Georgia’s Finance Ministry on Tuesday charged six individuals with operation of a fraudulent scheme that registered pregnant women as employees of an enterprise for the purpose of receiving state packages for maternity leave support.

The Service said its investigation had found the offenders - four entrepreneurs and two accountants - had registered 111 pregnant women as employees of the enterprises under their management and created fake employment papers for applying for the state support package between 2020-2022.

It also said the offenders had received payments of ₾111,000 ($41,423) in aid from the state budget through the scheme, with the perpetrators splitting the money between them and the women.

It added “relevant measures” were being taken to “identify and expose” other individuals in connection with the case, with the crime punishable with imprisonment from seven to ten years.