The ruling Georgian Dream MP Anri Okhanashvili says that both the leaders of the United National Movement and Lelo opposition parties have been involved in ‘legal and political fraud.’ 

Tbilisi City Court has found Lelo leaders, founders of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze of fraud earlier today in the case which dates back to 2008. 

Initially, Japaridze and Khazaradze were charged with laundering 16.7 million USD which they strongly disagreed. 

Okhanashvili says that it were Khazaradze and Japaridze who brought politics into the case and tried to display that the case was politically grounded. 

Khazaradze and Japaridze said that the charge ‘was invented’ to undermine the Anaklia deep sea port project. 

Both prosecution and Lelo leaders have plans to appeal today’s verdict. 

Khazaradze and Japaridze say that they were involved in no crime.