Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday after being found guilty of money laundering, the prosecution reported, according to LETA citing AFP.
Georgia has been experiencing a political crisis since October 2023, following the parliamentary elections. The opposition accuses the ruling party, "Georgian Dream," of falsifying the election results and is boycotting the current composition of parliament.
Garibashvili, who served as prime minister from 2013 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2024 from the "Georgian Dream" party, played a key role in suppressing civil society and government opponents.
The 43-year-old Garibashvili was considered a close ally of oligarch and founder of "Georgian Dream" Bidzina Ivanishvili, and experts link his prosecution to an intensified internal conflict within the party.
In October of last year, during a search of his apartment, prosecutors discovered $6.5 million in cash. Searches were also conducted at the homes of several other former officials.
After his arrest, Garibashvili admitted to receiving illegal income for many years and struck a deal with the prosecution to cooperate in order to reduce his prison sentence.
