Authorities have searched the homes of several former top Georgian Dream officials, including ex-Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili, and ex-Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze announced on Oct. 17, adding that more details would be released later.
According to Gvarakidze, the operation – part of what officials describe as “ongoing investigations into various criminal cases” – was conducted jointly by the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Anti-Corruption Department, and the State Security Service.
Searches took place at 22 locations across Tbilisi and other regions, including the personal residences of Garibashvili, Liluashvili, Partskhaladze, and eight of their associates.
Gvarakidze confirmed that investigators seized electronic devices, documents, and large sums of cash, calling it a “large-scale operation.”
“Active investigative, procedural, and operational-search measures are being carried out in connection with the mentioned cases,” he said, declining to specify which criminal articles were involved or whether arrest warrants were being sought.
No footage or additional evidence was released following the searches.
Anti-corruption drive or internal purge?
The searches come amid a widening crackdown on former Georgian Dream members and government figures, which has already led to multiple arrests and criminal prosecutions. Recent detentions include former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze and other Defense Ministry officials, charged with corruption.
While the ruling party insists these are steps in a broader anti-corruption drive, opposition groups and analysts say the moves reflect an intensifying internal purge within the ruling elite.
Otar Partskhaladze, one of the key figures in the investigation, was sanctioned by both the United States and the United Kingdom – for “malign Russian influence in Georgia” and for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine. A former close associate of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, Partskhaladze served as Prosecutor General for only a month before resigning in December 2023. He has recently reappeared in a high-profile court case tied to the contract killing of the brother of Georgian crime boss Merab Jangveladze.
Grigol Liluashvili, who resigned as head of the State Security Service in April 2024, was initially expected to be appointed Minister of Regional Development, though the decision was abruptly reversed. Opposition-leaning Formula TV recently reported that Liluashvili had allegedly been in contact with the organizers of the Oct. 4 “peaceful revolution” rally, which escalated into clashes earlier this month.
Irakli Garibashvili, who stepped down as Prime Minister in January 2024 and was replaced by Irakli Kobakhidze, has since remained a polarizing figure in Georgian politics. His resignation followed mounting Western criticism of the ruling party’s authoritarian tendencies, the controversial “foreign agents” law, and Tbilisi’s growing distance from its Western partners.
Georgia’s political shake-up
The Oct. 17 searches represent a remarkable escalation in Georgia’s internal power struggle, signaling that the Georgian Dream government may be turning inward – not only targeting opposition activists and independent media, but now its own former leadership circle.
The operation’s scope and timing suggest a calculated effort by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and the party’s informal leader Bidzina Ivanishvili to neutralize potential dissent within their ranks. Garibashvili, Liluashvili, and Partskhaladze – all once considered Ivanishvili loyalists – had recently been linked to rumors of internal factionalism and covert political maneuvering.
By framing the raids as an “anti-corruption” effort, Georgian Dream seeks to project legitimacy to domestic and international audiences, while effectively discrediting former insiders who may still hold sensitive information or political influence. However, the lack of transparency, absence of public evidence, and the use of state security structures raise concerns that this may be less about justice and more about preventive political cleansing.