29 arrested in nationwide security and anti-corruption operations, State Security Service

Georgia’s State Security Service on Thursday said 29 people had been detained or charged across 13 separate criminal cases following a series of operations carried out in different regions of the country over the past 36 hours.

Speaking at a briefing, Lasha Magradze, First Deputy Head of the State Security Service of Georgia, outlined the results of the coordinated measures, which involved counter-intelligence, special operations and anti-corruption units.

Magradze said that, following the processing of operational intelligence, officers from the Counter-Intelligence and Special Operations Departments arrested two foreign nationals in Kutaisi on suspicion of attempting to illegally purchase nuclear and radioactive substances.

According to the agency, the suspects allegedly planned to acquire uranium and the radioactive isotope caesium-137 for three million US dollars and transport them illegally to another country. Authorities said the individuals had travelled to Georgia repeatedly in recent weeks in an effort to create favourable conditions for the purchase and transfer of the materials.

Officials claimed that such substances were typically associated with serious criminal activity, including potential terrorist use.

In parallel anti-corruption operations, 12 individuals were charged in connection with the illegal logging of timber, official negligence and abuse of office. Those charged include former employees of the National Forestry Agency under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, staff from the Imereti forestry service, a representative of the Martvili forestry unit and two local residents.

A separate case in the municipality of Vani involved three individuals charged with official forgery, the production and use of falsified documents, and the illegal cutting of timber.

The agency also said that two people were detained on suspicion of bribery in Batumi and Lagodekhi. In Batumi, the case concerned a senior official at a municipal cleaning company accused of accepting a bribe in exchange for allowing the removal of construction waste using company-owned trucks. 

In Lagodekhi, a mayoral representative in the village of Kabali has been accused of accepting a bribe to help a citizen avoid a court-imposed sentence of community service.

Six people faced charges over the alleged illegal registration of state-owned land as private property. In addition, two individuals were charged in relation to the alleged manipulation of tender conditions, fraudulent misappropriation of significant state funds and abuse of official authority.

Magradze said that, despite what he described as an unprecedented scale of anti-corruption efforts in recent months, so-called “mid-level corruption” remained a serious challenge.

He called on citizens to cooperate with investigative bodies and provide relevant information where appropriate, warning that any violations of the law would be identified and met with strict legal consequences.