The court hearing of the former Deputy Minister of Defense, Giorgi Khaindrava; the former head of the Procurement Department of the same ministry, Vladimer Gudushauri; and the brother-in-law of then-Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, Vasil Mkheidze, will be held today, July 29.

The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at the Tbilisi City Court.

Today’s hearing will address the issue of imposing a preventive measure on the detainees.

The position of the prosecution is known — the Prosecutor’s Office is requesting the strictest measure of restraint: pre-trial detention. The position of the defense remains unknown.

Vladimer Gudushauri is exercising his right to remain silent; Vasil Mkheidze does not admit guilt; as for Giorgi Khaindrava, his position regarding the charges is unknown, as his lawyer is not communicating with the media.

Giorgi Khaindrava, Vladimer Gudushauri, and Vasil Mkheidze were officially charged today.

Gudushauri and Khaindrava are accused of embezzling a large amount of money, while Mkheidze is accused of assisting in the embezzlement.

According to the charges, Deputy Minister of Defense Giorgi Khaindrava and the then-head of the Ministry’s Procurement Department, Vladimer Gudushauri, with the help of the minister’s brother-in-law, Vasil Mkheidze, created a non-competitive environment during the ministry’s procurement process for an MRI machine for a military hospital. Through deliberate actions and fictitious deals, they artificially inflated the price of the equipment, leading to the embezzlement of 1,333,728 GEL belonging to the Ministry of Defense.

The investigation concerns the embezzlement of a large amount of money and assistance in embezzlement committed by a group in prior collusion and through abuse of official authority, under Article 182, paragraphs 2 (a, d) and 3 (b) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which carries a sentence of 7 to 11 years of imprisonment.