Ex-state security chief’s arrest power struggles, not anti-corruption drive, opposition leader

One of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, Zurab Japaridze, has claimed that the arrest of former State Security Service head Grigol Liluashvili reflected internal power dynamics rather than a genuine effort to tackle corruption.

Speaking to local media on Tuesday, Japaridze said it had become clear that Liluashvili and those around him had been stealing money, but argued that corruption was not the real concern for those in power.

“Liluashvili and his circle were stealing money - that much is now visible,” he said. “In addition, he was head of the State Security Service and could have had access to a great deal of information, including about contacts between Ivanishvili [Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party] and Russia. He would have had serious leverage.”

Japaridze suggested that Ivanishvili was primarily focused on preventing individuals from accumulating enough financial or political resources to pose a challenge to his authority.

“The only concern was that this would not turn against him,” he said. “Who really cares about corruption? The country is drowning in it.”

Liluashvili was detained earlier during the day. He has been charged under Article 338 of the Georgian Criminal Code with accepting particularly large bribes as part of an organised group, an offence carrying a possible sentence of 11 to 15 years in prison.