Former Handball Federation President arrested for alleged embezzlement of state funds

The former president of the Georgian National Handball Federation has been arrested on charges of embezzling a large sum of money through abuse of official authority, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the investigation was launched by the Department for Combating Corruption Crimes of the Prosecutor’s Office, based on a report from the State Audit Office.

The investigation revealed that between 2019 and 2021, the accused used business bank cards belonging to the federation to withdraw cash from various ATMs and illegally appropriated 464,496 GEL. The alleged scheme caused significant material damage to the organization.

The former official has been charged under Article 182, Parts 2(d) and 3(b) of Georgia’s Criminal Code - misappropriation of large amounts of money committed through abuse of office - which carries a potential prison sentence of seven to eleven years.

The Prosecutor’s Office said it will petition the court to impose pre-trial detention as a preventive measure.