According to my information, Juansher Burchuladze was detained all day yesterday and was released for one reason only — if he brings a specific amount of money to Bidzina. If he doesn’t do that, he will share the fate of his deputy and relative,” said Levan Khabeishvili, Chairman of the Political Council of the United National Movement.

According to him, former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze is also at risk of being arrested.

“Juansher Burchuladze’s deputy is under arrest, his close relative is under arrest. A few days ago, I said that Juansher Burchuladze would be detained, and now we see that his deputy and close relative have been arrested. As stated during the briefing, his relative was the one ‘fixing things,’ but he was doing so in Burchuladze’s name — he was stealing under Burchuladze’s name. The noose is tightening around Juansher Burchuladze, and it's obvious that he is also at risk of arrest. According to my information, he was detained for the entire day yesterday and was released solely on the condition that he delivers the ‘cash’ to Bidzina. The only way he can buy his freedom is by handing over a specific sum of money to Bidzina. If he doesn’t do that, he will meet the same fate as his deputy and relative,” said Levan Khabeishvili.

For reference, the State Security Service (SSS) arrested former Deputy Minister of Defense Giorgi Khaindrava and two other individuals. As the Director of the SSS Anti-Corruption Agency, Emzar Gagnidze, stated during a briefing, based on a court order and as a result of investigative and operational actions carried out by the agency, the former Deputy Minister of Defense G.Kh., the former Head of the Procurement Department V.Gh., and V.M., a close relative of the then Defense Minister, have been arrested.

According to the agency, the investigation has revealed that the criminal group developed and implemented a scheme through which 1,333,728 GEL was embezzled from the state budget of Georgia.