Paata Manjgaladze, one of the leaders of “Strategy Aghmashenebeli,” stated: “With Bidzina Ivanishvili, corruption has always been a form of governance. For him and his mafia-like mindset, corruption is not a crime – for him, the real crime is if you take more for yourself and bring less to Ivanishvili.”

According to Manjgaladze, internal infighting continues within “Georgian Dream,” which he sees as a sign of crisis.

“Corruption has always been a tool of rule for Ivanishvili. There was an unspoken deal between him and his loyal servants: steal a little for yourself and bring the rest to me. Ivanishvili began to suspect that these people were taking more for themselves and bringing him less – that’s what’s bothering him, and that’s why they’ve turned on each other. For Bidzina Ivanishvili and his mafia-like brain, corruption is not a crime – the crime is taking more for yourself and giving less to him.

The internal cannibalism continues – this is a clear sign of crisis. They’re devouring each other because Bidzina knows that the ones in his team who made money want neither sanctions nor Bidzina Ivanishvili himself,” Manjgaladze said.

For reference, the State Security Service (SSS) has arrested former Deputy Defense Minister Giorgi Khaindrava and two other individuals. According to the SSS, following operational-search and investigative activities conducted by its Anti-Corruption Agency and based on a court order, the former Deputy Defense Minister G.Kh., the former Head of the Ministry's Procurement Department V.Gh., and V.M., a close relative of the then Defense Minister, have been arrested.

According to the investigation, the criminal group devised and carried out a scheme through which 1,333,728 GEL was embezzled from Georgia’s state budget.