As a result of intensive counterintelligence activities carried out by the Counterintelligence Department of the State Security Service over the past few months, one Georgian citizen has been detained for espionage, namely, on charges of collecting and transmitting information to foreign special services, - First Deputy Head of the State Security Service Lasha Maghradze said at the briefing held today.

As Maghradze noted, evidence obtained as a result of various, including covert investigative actions, establishes that a public servant employed in a high position in one of the state agencies, contrary to the interests of the country, through his current service position, positions held in the past, and personal connections in various agencies, systematically obtained information and transmitted it in favor of the interests of foreign special services.

“The detainee had systematic contacts of a highly organized conspiratorial nature with a representative of a foreign intelligence service. The meetings were planned using encrypted two-way communication and were held at various locations, in strict compliance with the previously agreed terms of the conspiracy. The information was provided both through face-to-face contact and by electronic means.

The information transferred to the foreign intelligence service included various categories of secret data related to the ongoing political and economic processes in Georgia, the situation in law enforcement agencies and security structures, information about ethnic and religious minorities, and other data.

In addition, the evidence obtained establishes that, on the instructions of the representative of the foreign intelligence service, the detainee also worked on the creation of information platforms, the purpose of which was to attract representatives of the media sphere and, using the aforementioned network, in accordance with the interest of the special services, to obtain intelligence information, including in the direction of the countries of the region.

The accused carried out the above-mentioned activities with the aim of obtaining material benefits.

The investigation into the case is underway under Article 314, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for a sentence of 8 to 12 years of imprisonment," Lasha Maghradze said.