Employees of the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia have detained the head of LLC “Batono” on the fact of manufacturing and selling falsified products dangerous to life and health. This was announced today at a briefing by the Deputy Head of the Department of the Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance, Guga Tavberidze.

According to him, the investigation established that in 2025, under a contract concluded on the basis of a state tender, the accused supplied fish preserves worth 380,792 GEL in the amount of 24,177.3 kilograms to the Border Police and LLC “State Catering Provision.” As explained by the Investigation Service, this product was intended for the meals of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Georgia.

“As a result of investigative actions, including a search of the enterprise, 17,241 units of falsified fish preserves were seized. It was also established that the conditions for manufacturing the product and storing the raw materials critically did not comply with food safety requirements.

Chemical and microbiological expertise conducted on the seized products concluded that the preserves do not meet microbiological standards and are unfit for consumption. In some cases, expertise could not be performed because the product posed a danger to the life and health of the expert himself due to high toxicity.

In addition, it was established that the content of the preserves - the mass share of fish meat and energy value - does not correspond to the data indicated on the label.

The investigation is ongoing under Part 3 of Article 197 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for imprisonment from 5 to 7 years.

The Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance continues active investigative actions to identify and seize products dangerous to life and health,” - stated Guga Tavberidze.