Anti-corruption researcher: ‘public officials are also guilty, no one should be pardoned for participating in corrupt scheme’

Recent high-profile arrests within Georgia’s Ministry of Infrastructure and the Municipal Development Fund, including senior officials Koba Gabunia and Davit Tabidze, have raised questions about whether investigators are closing in on higher-ranking political figures.

In an interview with Front News, anti-corruption researcher Besik Donadze says the arrests point directly toward former Infrastructure Minister Irakli Karseladze and former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili, who he describes as key figures in a powerful, systemic corruption network known as the “Vanelebi Clan”.

Q. In your opinion, how justified is the assumption that the arrests of Gabunia, Tabidze and others are directly connected to the path leading toward Karseladze and Liluashvili? What kind of legal or corruption network might this indicate, and why were these arrests not made earlier?

A. The investigators already have plenty of evidence to arrest these people. Arresting Karseladze would not be difficult at this point. However, Karseladze has the example of former Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili - how he acted and how his behaviour should have been a warning to other wrongdoers.

Essentially, they have already reached Karseladze. After the head of the Municipal Development Fund was arrested, he said that he had confessed everything and was cooperating with the investigation. Cooperation does not mean simply confirming what investigators already know; it means providing them with new, valuable information. That is what Tabidze did - he gave them what they did not know. After that, his supervisor, the deputy minister, was arrested. Logically, the next person to be arrested should be Karseladze.

Let’s also remember: Tabidze was the head of the Municipal Development Fund. Who could give him orders? Not someone below him, not a department head. Only two people had that authority - the minister himself or his direct deputy. The deputy is already detained; the only one left is the minister.

Q. It turns out Karseladze and Liluashvili were university classmates and even best men at each other’s weddings. They are known as the “Vanelebi Clan”, which grew stronger after 2016. In your opinion, what role did Liluashvili play in creating and maintaining these corruption schemes, especially in relation to the Ministry of Infrastructure?

A. Yes, the Vanelebi Clan led by Liluashvili is well-known. We have also heard of the Kakheli Clan and the Rizhvadze Clan within the ruling Georgian Dream party. Officials in the ruling party form their own small teams to rely on and when you want to make money through corruption, you must have such a group.

As for Liluashvili’s role, he was the central figure. These people had his guarantee that as long as they made money, they would not be arrested. That “green light” was crucial.

For example, after Deputy Minister Gabunia’s arrest, his lawyer said Gabunia was shocked - he could not understand why he was being detained because he had been told he could make money and would not be touched. Gabunia was following his superiors’ orders and believed he was not personally at risk.

This was systemic corruption. When a low-level specialist prepares documents, they go to the minister for signature. If the minister does not instruct them to “close your eyes” and promises a bonus or some other benefit, no civil servant would take such risks alone. It is impossible to rig a deal with a company without the leadership knowing.

At the same time, the public officials who watched all this happen and stayed silent are also guilty. Even if they did not profit directly, they turned a blind eye. No one should be pardoned for participating in this corrupt system. Even department officers should be arrested.

Q. In Gabunia’s case, he is accused of fraudulently misappropriating ₾9.3 million ($3.43mln) allocated for kindergarten renovation and laundering illegal income. In your observation, what are the most common corruption schemes in large agencies like the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Municipal Development Fund? How was public money stolen through these schemes?

A. This is systemic corruption, and every small detail plays an important role.

Rigged tenders: The first is rigging tenders to favour a specific company during the electronic selection process. A common trick is falsifying market research to make it appear that other companies refused to participate, leaving only one “eligible” bidder - the one they wanted to win.

Advance payments: Another common scheme is the abuse of advance payments. While legally allowed, these advances must be properly justified and backed by bank guarantees, but in these cases, they were not. This is what most of the arrested officials are accused of.

Incomplete or poor-quality work: Another method involves failing to perform the full scope of work required by the project. For instance, a project might require 22 cubic meters of ballast, but only 12 are actually supplied and the supervising company certifies that 22 were used. Or the work is done poorly, but the tender commission still approves it, ignoring defects like asphalt thickness or vertical alignment.

Invisible (underground) work: Money is also often stolen through “invisible” underground works, such as excavation or foundation laying. Supervising companies are supposed to monitor how much earth is moved or material laid, but when they do not, companies pay them off and share the profits.

When the State Security Service or the Ministry of Finance talks about falsified documents - this is what they mean.

The result is that Georgia now has substandard infrastructure - roads, bridges, tunnels, schools and kindergartens - everything is poorly built. What was supposed to be done was not actually completed. Falsified documents mean poor-quality construction. We can honestly tell Georgian citizens that corruption kills - we are driving on unsafe roads and children and teachers spend every day in unsafe schools and kindergartens.

Q. What share of responsibility lies with the current Government, especially members of Parliament who were in power during these years? In a parliamentary democracy, Parliament is supposed to control the Government. Did they really only learn about this now?

A. Of course not. A huge share of responsibility lies with [the Prime Minister Irakli] Kobakhidze, [State Security Service Head Mamuka] Mdinaradze and others now in Government or Parliament. During Gharibashvili’s premiership, they were part of the parliamentary majority responsible for oversight. They failed to exercise effective control over the government for 13 years.

Now these same people claim they will create a “10-year development plan”. What kind of development are they talking about when they stole ₾5 billion ($1.84bln) from just one ministry over 10 years?

For comparison, during [former] Defence Minister [Juansher] Burchuladze’s tenure, just over two years, a single contract checked by the Security Service revealed ₾1.5 million ($0.55mln) stolen. Imagine what it is like at Makhata Mountain, where a whole military town was built - how dangerous it must be to live there! That construction was overseen by [people] charged with corruption. How can we trust the buildings they constructed to be safe for people to live in?

Q. Finally, let’s talk about Gharibashvili. Despite numerous allegations, he has not been charged with direct budget embezzlement. Instead, he faces accusations of undeclared income and conducting business while in office. Why no corruption charges and why was he not detained? Do you think he might possess compromising material he could use to bargain with [ruling party founder Bidzina] Ivanishvili?

A. I think when it comes to compromising materials, Liluashvili probably has the biggest archive. He had legal authority to conduct wiretapping and I am sure he even listened to Ivanishvili. I have no doubt he kept copies of all the so-called “dossiers” he gave to Ivanishvili.

As for Gharibashvili, he is a different kind of servant. The fact is, he admitted guilt and accepted the charges. Ivanishvili effectively destroyed him, erased his political future. Gharibashvili was never an independent figure; he was Ivanishvili’s errand boy.

But beyond the ₾6 million ($2.21mln) he paid, has anyone checked what assets he is hiding in his bank accounts - even those under his father’s name? Gharibashvili himself said his father gave him money from his business, which means, if he confessed everything, he also testified against his father. His father was part of the money-laundering scheme and should be charged as well.

As for his release, it looks like a bargain - a trade-off of sorts. We cannot yet define exactly what kind of deal it was, but the fact remains: he stole public money, paid part of it back, and is now free, still enjoying taxpayer-funded protection, a car, a driver and fuel. We are still paying for his comfortable life.

Ultimately, everyone is already under arrest in one way or another, it is just up to Ivanishvili to decide who stays behind bars and who walks free.