The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has issued a statement regarding the conviction of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who was sentenced to 9 years in prison for large-scale embezzlement of state budget funds, and the former head of the Special State Protection Service (SSPS), Teimuraz Janashia, who was fined 300,000 GEL.

According to the statement, from May 2009 to February 25, 2013, a total of 9,024,367 GEL from the state budget was criminally embezzled for Mikheil Saakashvili’s personal comfort and luxury.

**"The Tbilisi City Court upheld the evidence presented by the Prosecutor’s Office and found former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili guilty of embezzling large amounts of state budget funds through a corrupt scheme. The court also found the former head of the Special State Protection Service, Teimuraz Janashia, guilty. However, instead of embezzlement, his actions were classified as abuse of official authority.

The evidence presented during the trial confirmed that in March 2009, media sources reported that Mikheil Saakashvili invited Dorothy Stein, known as 'Dr. Dot,' to Georgia for massage services, which were paid for using the president’s representative expenses.

Since the expenses of the Presidential Administration and the State Security Agency were public, steps were taken to prevent the disclosure of the misuse of these funds. To achieve this, Mikheil Saakashvili created a corrupt scheme, using state budget funds for personal luxuries under the guise of state secrecy.

Specifically, to establish a legal basis for these expenses, between 2009 and 2013, Mikheil Saakashvili issued classified decrees directing the Special State Protection Service to cover costs that the Presidential Administration and the State Security Agency could not legally finance.

Although over 20 million GEL was officially spent from the budgets of the Presidential Administration and the State Security Agency on presidential representative expenses between 2009 and 2012, an additional 9,024,367 GEL was criminally embezzled from the state budget between May 2009 and February 25, 2013, under Mikheil Saakashvili’s direction and with the involvement of SSPS leadership.

This amount included: Over 700,000 GEL for cosmetic procedures, 75,181 GEL for hotel services and travel expenses of Mikheil Saakashvili’s stylist, Ali Kamal, 114,682 GEL for weight-loss procedures at a wellness center in Innsbruck for Mikheil Saakashvili and Gigi Ugulava, 10,673 GEL for travel and gifts for Mariam Sajaya in the UAE and Batumi,6,401 GEL for hotel services in the UAE for Alana Gagloeva, 10,670 GEL for jewelry gifts to Sara Varone and Monica Puglia, 1,600 GEL for an iPhone for Tina Bokuchava,5,430 GEL for hotel services and travel expenses for Sopho Nizharadze, 15,873 GEL for hotel services and travel expenses for Kristina and Natalia Usov, 38,247 GEL for travel expenses of Vera Kobalia’s family members, including her parents and sister, 15,989 GEL for a painting created by Meredith Ostrom in London using her breasts, 191,643 GEL for the salary, housing, interpreter, and travel expenses of Mikheil Saakashvili’s Spanish chef, Sergio Calderon Latasa,88,919 GEL for overseas hotel expenses of Koba Nakopia, Goga Khachidze, Nugzar Tsiklauri, Giorgi Gabashvili, Sergo Ratiani, Petre Tsiskarishvili, Levan Varshalomidze, and Giorgi Arveladze, 127,858 GEL for hotel, transportation, and food expenses in Phuket, Thailand, for Mikheil Saakashvili, Davit Bakradze, and Levan Varshalomidze, 25,117 GEL for travel expenses of Mikheil Saakashvili’s family members, including Giuli Alasania, Teimuraz Alasania, Nika Alasania, and Giorgi Alasania, 64,929 GEL for tuition fees for Mikheil Saakashvili’s children,2,350 GEL for an iPhone for Eduard Saakashvili, 58,876 GEL for renting Porsche, Mercedes, and Audi cars in Austria for Mikheil Saakashvili and Giorgi Ugulava, 45,214 GEL for limousine and minivan rentals in Verona, Italy, during a visit by Mikheil Saakashvili, 33,204 GEL for helicopter rental in Peru, 35,350 GEL for bicycle rentals for Mikheil Saakashvili abroad,25,237 GEL for yacht rental in Pisa, Italy, 49,499 GEL for seven suits and one cashmere sports coat purchased in the UK for Mikheil Saakashvili, plus 7,994 GEL for two handmade suits,53,283 GEL for ten wrist watches purchased in the US, UK, and Georgia, 721,827 GEL for cosmetic procedures for Mikheil Saakashvili. Additionally, over 2,000,000 GEL was spent on hotel services, nearly 1,000,000 GEL on travel tickets, over 1,400,000 GEL on food services for Mikheil Saakashvili, his family members, and others, over 2,000,000 GEL on transportation services, nearly 300,000 GEL on rent for residences, over 100,000 GEL on clothing, and up to 250,000 GEL on gifts and souvenirs.

The Tbilisi City Court found Mikheil Saakashvili guilty under Article 182, Section 2 (d) and Section 3 (b) of the Georgian Criminal Code and sentenced him to 9 years in prison.

As for Teimuraz Janashia, his actions were classified as abuse of power under Article 332 of the Criminal Code, and he was fined 300,000 GEL. The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia will appeal the court’s decision regarding Janashia to a higher instance within the legally defined timeframe.

It is important to remind the public that Mikheil Saakashvili has already been convicted in two criminal cases: the murder of Sandro Girgvliani and the attack on Valeri Gelashvili. These cases were also reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that justice had been served fairly, based on adequate evidence, and was not aimed at removing the defendant from political life.

Currently, Mikheil Saakashvili is also facing criminal charges in two other cases: illegal border crossing and the raid on 'Imedi TV,' the November 7 crackdown, and the unlawful seizure of the Patarkatsishvili family’s property. The substantive hearings for these cases are ongoing in the Tbilisi City Court," the statement reads.