Former boxer and businessman Giorgi Kandelaki, who was arrested on charges of illegal production of alcohol, has pleaded not guilty, the detainee’s lawyer Gagi Mosiashvili told InterpressNews.

As he explains, “there may have been some kind of mistake” and the investigation will determine the reality. According to Mosiashvili, Kandelaki is a businessman, he runs a business legally, and the information spread that his factory was illegally producing alcohol is incorrect.

"The charge has been officially filed, however, the case materials have not yet been handed over to the defense. As for the formulation of the charge, the factual circumstances reflected in the charge do not really correspond to reality. After fully familiarizing myself with the case materials, I will have the opportunity to assess the absurdity or justification of the charge in legal terms. Unfortunately, the information disseminated is incorrect regarding the circumstances that it turns out that Giorgi owns a factory, territories, and hundreds of thousands of land plots, where it turns out that the buildings where alcohol was produced are located. This is incorrect information and a lie. The reality is that Giorgi Kandelaki does not have any kind of involvement in this matter.

Giorgi has his own business, which is called a legal business and everyone knows this, but those buildings, those so-called tens of thousands of land plots, where the aforementioned administrative building is located, are neither Giorgi's property nor are they related to Giorgi. Giorgi is a businessman, but he has zero connection with the charge and the factual circumstances reflected in the charge.

The investigative agency accuses him of counterfeiting alcohol production, however, the legal instrument of this dispute, what is written in the charge, is very general and meaningless. I repeat, his connection with the territory, or the mentioned building, is not confirmed. He has nothing much to say about the charge, after studying the case materials, we will provide more information to the public, however, we have already talked about the absurdity of the charge,” Mosiashvili stated.

Giorgi Kandelaki has been transferred to the Kutaisi temporary detention center. The Tbilisi City Court will consider the imposition of a preventive measure against him today.

For information, the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance seized 75,137 bottles of alcoholic beverages and 318,000 packs of excise-free cigarettes, in connection with which 7 people, including Giorgi Kandelaki, were arrested.