Late ex-PM Zurab Zhvania’s son charged with organizing murder in high-profile case

Georgia’s Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday announced it had brought charges in connection with the alleged organization of the 2021 contract killing of Niko (Nikoloz) Kvaratskhelia, founder of the technology platform Feedc.

Among those charged is Besarion (Busa) Zhvania, son of late former Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania. Prosecutors have also charged brothers Davit and Guram (Guga) Kakulia, who are currently in custody in other criminal cases. Zhvania has been charged in absentia and placed on a wanted list.

At a briefing in Tbilisi, officials said that the case concerned the organized, group-based, premeditated contract killing of Kvaratskhelia. 

According to the investigation’s version, the Kakulia brothers allegedly planned the murder out of revenge against Gia Kvaratskhelia - Niko Kvaratskhelia’s father, described by prosecutors as an alleged “thief-in-law” - and in order to strengthen their standing within criminal circles.

Investigators claimed the Kakulia brothers shared their intent with Zhvania, who allegedly undertook efforts to identify and coordinate the perpetrators. 

Prosecutors claimed that Zhvania contacted Aleko Chelidze and Giorgi Kaviladze, both of whom were previously convicted for carrying out the killing and sentenced to 17 and 16 years in prison, respectively.

The agency said Chelidze and Kaviladze traveled to Armenia in mid-2021 to meet the Kakulia brothers and receive instructions.

 In early September 2021, the Kakulias allegedly entered Georgia illegally, after which they were accommodated at a property in Tbilisi’s Vake district that prosecutors said was linked to Zhvania’s family. The investigation alleged that logistical coordination continued there in the days leading up to the attack.

On September 15, 2021, Kvaratskhelia was shot multiple times near his residence in Tbilisi and later died of his injuries in hospital. Prosecutors said that the perpetrators had conducted prior surveillance and obtained the weapon and vehicle used in the attack.