The Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia hosted a high-level briefing in coordination with the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti District Prosecutor’s Office. The authorities confirmed the arrest of three members of an organized group accused of causing extensive property damage through fraudulent schemes.
The Ministry of Finance Investigation Service of Georgia shared glimpses of the meeting on its official Facebook Page on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. The Ministry also shared a small note about the briefing, along with its glimpses.
According to the small note shared by the Georgian Ministry, it should be noted that the suspects allegedly used fake companies, forged tax documents, and false VAT claims to defraud the state of millions of GEL.
Investigation determined that to conceal the crime, the accused registered companies in the names of individuals living in the occupied territory of Abkhazia and by manufacturing and using forged tax documents, they attributed with each other iron structures and scrap metal worth GEL 151 mln and in that manner created a fictitious VAT asset – in the total amount of GEL 20 336 923.
One of the companies owned by the accused charged VAT for GEL 563,353, which was used entirely to cover current tax liabilities.
Appropriate procedures are being carried out in order to determine the full amount of damage caused to the state budget and to expose other perpetrators of the crime.
Investigation is underway under the Article 185, part 3, sub-paragraphs “a” and “b” of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which as a type and extent of sentence, envisage imprisonment from four to six years, and under the Article 210, part 2, sub-paragraph “a”, which shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of four to seven years.
Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia will continue to implement a strict criminal justice policy against crimes and corruption committed in the financial-economic sphere.
