Ten people, including journalist Eliso Kiladze and Georgia’s former prosecutor general, Otar Partskhaladze, are facing criminal prosecution on fraud and money-laundering charges linked to alleged scam call centers, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced on February 18.
The announcement followed the morning arrest of journalist Eliso Kiladze, editor-in-chief of Cnews and Kronika+ media outlets.
Prosecutor Mikheil Sadradze said charges have been filed in absentia against former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, who is no longer in Georgia and reportedly holds Russian citizenship, as well as Davit Mikadze, Irakli Sekhniashvili, and Mikheil Chokheli.
Davit Mikadze’s brother, Giorgi Mikadze, who is also charged, is jailed in a separate case over the alleged contract and organized killing of businessman Levan Jangveladze. Otar Partskhaladze and Davit Mikadze are also charged in absentia in the Jangveladze case, which journalist Eliso Kiladze closely covered.
The other four individuals charged in the new case are Givi Jibladze, Ben Anor, Tornike Janelidze, and Giorgi Kamladze. Prosecutor Sadradze said they “cooperated effectively with the investigation and not only admitted to the crimes committed but also substantially contributed to uncovering the transnational crime.” He added that, taking into account their cooperation with the investigation, the prosecution is requesting bail for them while seeking pretrial detention for the other defendants.
All face nine to twelve years in prison.
According to Prosecutor Sadradze, the alleged organized group coordinated “under the patronage” of Otar Partskhaladze. He said the group’s objective “was to obtain material benefit unlawfully and subsequently launder the money.”
He said the fraudulent call centers were set up using “several legal entities” founded by the group and operated in Tbilisi at “various locations,” with Russian-, English- and German-language divisions.
“Call-center operators, following the instructions of their leaders, lured customers to fake trading platforms, promising profitable investments to encourage participation. They then fraudulently seized large sums of money or cryptocurrency invested by the customers and subsequently moved, split, and integrated the illicit assets,” Sadradze said.
“At this stage of the investigation alone, it has been established that in 2020–2023, within the framework of the criminal activity, members of the organized group fraudulently obtained cryptocurrency belonging to more than 200 foreign citizens, valued at approximately USD 9.5 million,” he said, adding that the group later laundered the illicit funds.
According to the prosecutor, Givi Jibladze, Ben Anor, Tornike Janelidze, and Giorgi Kamladze ran the call centers, supervising staff and managing finances. Giorgi Mikadze, Davit Mikadze, Irakli Sekhniashvili, and Mikheil Chokheli, under the influence of Otar Partskhaladze, “protected the call center’s criminal activities from law enforcement and rival groups” and took part in key operational decisions. Meanwhile, journalist Eliso Kiladze allegedly “ensured the call centers appeared lawful” and targeted rival centers by revealing information about their locations and employees, issuing threats, and recruiting staff through blackmail.
Also Read:
This post is also available in:
ქართული
