Parliamentary inquiry reviews corruption, property rights violations under former UNM Gov’t

The Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission examining crimes committed by the former United National Movement Government between 2003 and 2012 on Tuesday held another session focused on alleged corruption and property rights violations involving public officials during that period.

The Commission heard testimony from Jondo Baghaturia, who claimed that the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili amassed billions in personal wealth during his presidency through what he described as systemic state-led banditry - misappropriation of state assets and expropriation from ordinary citizens.

“The evidence I submitted does not simply highlight one specific crime or the corruption of a single president and his family - shameful as that may be - but rather exposes the final stage of decay in every branch of government. It reflects a systemic crime involving all institutions associated with the state. The judiciary, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Public Registry, as well as the president’s family members and the media were all complicit”, Baghaturia told the Commission.

He presented documents which, according to him, clearly demonstrate Saakashvili’s unexplained wealth, noting that a significant portion of his family’s property acquisitions were registered during the period leading up to the 2008 August War.

Baghaturia also alleged that Saakashvili’s mother, Giuli Alasania, orchestrated monopolies within the education sector - shutting down public schools and stripping higher education institutions of their property.

The Commission also questioned Jumber Buzaladze, who testified that in 2005, he was falsely accused of ties to the Japanese mafia and the trafficking of stolen vehicles into Georgia. As a result, two of his cars were seized from a car lot and he was imprisoned for one year.

Buzaladze claimed that the seizure involved then-Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Merabishvili and the Head of the Special Operations Department, Irakli Kodua. He said the incident cost him not only his property but also had a lasting impact on his health.

At the conclusion of the session, the Commission Chair Thea Tsulukiani stated that the Commission’s final report would constitute yet another verdict against Mikheil Saakashvili.