“Now, even a civil servant in a high position will think three times before signing anything,” said former Minister of Economy Giorgi Kobulia on the Sakme program on PalitraNews and Radio Palitra, commenting on the arrest of former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

According to Kobulia, it is clear to the public that the arrest of the former prime minister was not due to an incorrectly filled declaration. He also stated that he welcomes this decision by Georgian Dream, considering it an important step forward in the fight against corruption.

“We have seen such facts that, of course, no one doubted that this would lead to the arrest of the former prime minister. What is it connected to? From my perspective, this is not related to conflicts between clans. I have said more than once that we do not have many clans in power. There is only one clan, and that is the Georgian Dream government.

This arrest is still connected to the fact that for a very long time everyone was aware of large-scale corrupt deals. There were always suspicions, a sense that it was happening, but no one had the facts. Over the last few years, corrupt schemes went so far beyond the zone of control that Georgian Dream had no other option but to address the matter themselves.

I will not go into the competence of the court, I am not a specialist in that. However, if you incorrectly filled out a declaration and reported income wrongly, I don’t think people go to prison for five years for that. There is a 1,000 GEL fine for incorrectly filling out a declaration. I don’t think anyone would be sent to prison for five years for that. You and our viewers understand this well; no further explanation is necessary.

In my opinion, he took the absolutely right step. I welcome this step. This does not mean we are naive. Unfortunately, corrupt practices are so entrenched in our culture that it is very difficult to eliminate them suddenly. However, this is a very serious step forward in the fight against corruption. I repeat, no one is naive, and we do not expect that there will no longer be corrupt or privileged deals. There probably will be, but now many civil servants, even in high positions, will think three times before signing anything, even if ordered by their superiors. Therefore, I think this is good for our country. It is bad for the people involved, but they themselves should have thought about their actions at the time,” Kobulia said.

For reference, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia reached a plea agreement with former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, sentencing him to five years of imprisonment. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Garibashvili was also fined 1 million GEL, and funds obtained from criminal activity and seized during the search of his residence will be confiscated.

Irakli Garibashvili has been placed in Rustavi Penitentiary Institution No. 12.