According to Lasha Parulava, one of the leaders of the United National Movement, the statement by Andria Jaghmaidze, Head of the Public Relations Service of the Patriarchate, regarding the costs of Patriarch Ilia II’s funeral - claiming that they had known in advance that companies would decline to accept fees - is merely an attempt to help the government evade the scandal.

As Lasha Parulava writes on Facebook, during Irakli Kobakhidze’s tenure as Prime Minister, harmful and corrupt schemes have become the norm and a continuation of the “Georgian Dream tradition.”

“I would like to respond to the statement by the Head of the Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service regarding the costs of Patriarch Ilia II’s funeral, claiming that everything was known in advance and that companies would decline to accept fees. This statement is merely an attempt to help the Georgian Dream government evade the scandal. And why?

A government commission was established to organize the Patriarch’s funeral, headed by Ivanishvili’s Prime Minister, although he did not have time for this matter. Bidzina sent him to Hungary to attend an event hosted by Orbán, so that he could negotiate with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance over the issue of lifting sanctions. This revealed what Ivanishvili’s and the Georgian Dream’s priorities were: managing the Patriarch’s funeral ceremony, or addressing the lifting of sanctions and their personal political interests. As a result, the government commission was handed over to former Culture Minister Tika Rukhadze, who had already been dismissed.

Tika Rukhadze calculated the funeral expenses and requested that funds be allocated from the government’s reserve fund. In other words, the expenses had already been calculated, the services had been planned, and relations with companies should already have been underway. However, as it turns out, contracts were signed not directly with the service providers, but with intermediaries. Then, when the intermediaries commissioned subcontractors to provide the services, those subcontractors declined to accept fees, and that is where the process got stuck. This is why they are concealing public information.

It was precisely because of this scandal that Tika Rukhadze was dismissed. The contracted companies were allegedly business groups connected to her and her circle of friends. This is why approximately GEL 3 million was initially calculated, while the final expenditure came down to GEL 722,000.

Of course, this should not be viewed as an isolated case. We are dealing with systematic, alleged corrupt deals, in which budgetary resources are managed through a simplified process, by negotiating with a single individual, and that individual is once again a shell company connected to Georgian Dream officials - an intermediary that simply adds its own corrupt share to the cost of the service, while the work itself is actually performed by a subcontractor.

This has been happening systematically for years: during Christmas and New Year celebrations, Easter, Independence Day, and other religious and state events. The Georgian Dream adds its own intermediary fee on top, which is ultimately paid by the public.

The lack of transparency, followed by the explanation that ‘GEL 3 million was allocated, but we spent only a third of it,’ comes from precisely this. If you ask Kobakhidze where the corruption is, supposedly you will not find it anywhere within his team. Yet these are exactly the kinds of harmful and corrupt schemes that, during his premiership as well, have become the norm and a continuation of the ‘Georgian Dream tradition.’

Father Andria Jaghmaidze, I want you to see this post and, before calling questions raised by critical media and publicly disclosed information slander, think about it. Because accusing people who fight for the truth of lying and slander, instead of answering their questions, is surely a common sin. It would be good to think about that as well.

Of course, I am writing this with Christian brotherly love, and not out of anger,” Lasha Parulava wrote.

Andria Jaghmaidze, Head of the Public Relations Service of the Patriarchate of Georgia, wrote on social media that they had known that most of the funds allocated for the Patriarch’s funeral would not be spent. According to Jaghmaidze, organizations and private individuals mostly declined to accept fees or salaries for various services.