According to the State Security Service, the family of Juansher Burculadze, former Minister of Defense of Georgia, purchased in January 2025 a plot of land with a residential house in Spain for €544,000 in order to conceal and disguise the source of a particularly large amount of illegal and/or unsubstantiated property.

In total, according to the SSG, the former Minister of Defense carried out the legalization of GEL 1,593,212 of illegal/unsubstantiated income.

Furthermore, the agency states that in March 2025, Juansher Burculadze did not declare the real estate purchased in Spain in his asset declaration, in order to conceal the illegal origin of the €544,000.

According to the SSG, the investigation against Juansher Burculadze is being conducted under Article 194, Part 3, Subparagraph “g,” and Article 332, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for imprisonment of 9 to 12 years.

“The purpose of these actions was to give a legal form to property of particularly large illegal and/or unsubstantiated origin, which Juansher Burculadze could not legally justify.

In January 2025, Burculadze’s family purchased for €544,000 a plot of land in Spain, Malaga Province, with a residential house on it. Since the legal origin of these funds was not documented by Burculadze or his spouse, a fictitious sale agreement was signed on December 9, 2024, between Burculadze’s spouse and a third party regarding the sale of property located on 2 Nushis Bagh Street in the town of Tsnisi for €620,000. In reality, the property was not transferred, and the purpose of the agreement was solely to conceal the origin of funds to be transferred to Spain. Additionally, fictitious loan agreements were used. Notably, in March 2025, Burculadze did not declare the property purchased in Spain in his asset declaration to hide the illegal origin of the €544,000.

Using these methods, Juansher Burculadze carried out the legalization of GEL 1,593,212 of particularly large illegal/unsubstantiated income.

The investigation into these criminal acts is ongoing under Article 194, Part 3, Subparagraph “g,” and Article 332, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which carries a penalty of 9 to 12 years of imprisonment,” the statement said.