Georgian ex-PM and former ally of country's richest man charged with money laundering

By Felix Light

TBILISI (Reuters) -Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili was charged on Friday with large-scale money laundering, the first time a senior figure from the governing elite has faced prosecution during a broader crackdown targeting opposition leaders.

Garibashvili, who served as prime minister from 2021 to 2024 and previously from 2013 to 2015, had been a longtime loyalist of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire ex-prime minister widely seen as Georgia's de facto ruler.

Georgian officials said last week that the homes of Garibashvili and two other longtime associates of Ivanishvili had been raided by police.

The country's prosecutor general on Friday announced the charge - an offence that can carry up to 12 years in prison - against Garibashvili, who has yet to publicly comment on the charge or the raid.

Georgian media cited the prosecutor general as saying that $6.5 million in cash had been seized at Garibashvili's home.

The country is in the throes of a crackdown on pro-Western opponents of Ivanishvili, who have staged street protests for over a year and accused his Georgian Dream party of pro-Russian and authoritarian tendencies.

Despite having no formal diplomatic relations with Russia, Georgia has since 2022 deepened ties with its northern neighbour, saying it wants to keep the peace above all.

A string of opposition leaders have been jailed in the country, which had traditionally been among the former Soviet Union's most democratic and pro-Western successor states.

But the charge against Garibashvili represents the first instance of a core member of the country's ruling elite being prosecuted.

Garibashvili, 43, spent nearly his entire career working for Ivanishvili's businesses, before entering politics with his Georgian Dream party.

In 2023, Garibashvili helped usher in Georgia's anti-Western turn, saying in a speech in Slovakia that NATO expansion was to blame for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Muvija M)