Tbilisi Mayor rejects responsibility in kindergarten corruption case

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has rejected claims of political responsibility in a corruption case involving the city’s kindergarten management agency, saying any official found guilty must answer before the law, regardless of who appointed them.

Speaking to journalists, Kaladze said the Tbilisi City Hall employs up to 30,000 staff and that criminal accountability is an individual matter. “It does not matter who appointed the person. If anyone commits a crime, they will have to answer before the law. Absolutely everyone who is guilty will be held accountable,” he said.

Kaladze was responding to questions about Kakha Gvantseladze, the former head of the Tbilisi Mayor’s Kindergarten Management Agency, who has been charged in absentia. Prosecutors alleged that Gvantseladze received large sums of money through corrupt schemes and was protected by former head of the State Security Service, Grigol Liluashvili.

The mayor said City Hall had no concerns about the tenders related to kindergartens, as they appeared to be conducted properly. “From what we saw, everything was managed correctly. If something illegal was happening behind the scenes, neither I nor my colleagues had information about it,” Kaladze said.

He added that investigative powers do not lie with the mayor’s office. “The mayor and deputy mayor do not have the authority to conduct investigations. That is the responsibility of the audit service, the prosecutor’s office and investigative bodies,” he said, adding that City Hall would have reacted immediately had violations been identified earlier.

Former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili was recently arrested and charged with accepting particularly large bribes as part of an organised group, an offence punishable by 11 to 15 years in prison under Georgian law. The investigation is ongoing.