“Grigol Liluashvili has never taken a bribe from anyone, including Kakhaber Gvantseladze. Moreover, even what Kakhaber Gvantseladze himself was allegedly receiving has not been established,” said Lana Tsertsvadze, the lawyer of former State Security Service head Grigol Liluashvili, who has been detained on charges of receiving a particularly large bribe.

According to her, the former head of the Kindergarten Agency, Kakhaber Gvantseladze, and Grigol Liluashvili were never friends and had no cooperation.

“I can categorically state that regarding the kindergarten episode, there is no evidence in the case file that incriminates Mr. Grigol Liluashvili.

The former head of the Kindergarten Agency, Kakhaber Gvantseladze, is not a friend of Mr. Grigol. They may have been acquainted, but there was no cooperation between them, and the case materials confirm that they had no connection. If someone misappropriated funds, of course, it should be investigated by the investigative authorities and properly supervised by the prosecutor’s office, but not at the expense of implicating a person - Grigol Liluashvili - who has no involvement in this episode and charging him. Grigol Liluashvili has never taken a bribe from anyone, including Kakhaber Gvantseladze. Moreover, even what Kakhaber Gvantseladze himself was allegedly receiving has not been proven,” she said.

For context, the Prosecutor’s Office arrested former State Security Service head Grigol Liluashvili on December 23 after questioning him. He is charged under Article 338, Part 2 (subparagraph “g”) and Part 3 (subparagraph “e”) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns receiving a particularly large bribe by a group in prior agreement and carries a sentence of 11 to 15 years in prison.