Former Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili Sentenced to 5 Years in Money Laundering Plea Deal

Irakli Garibashvili, the former Georgian Prime Minister and ex-leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, has been sentenced to five years in prison under a plea bargain reached on Jan. 12 following corruption-related charges filed in October.

Under the agreement approved by the court, Garibashvili, 43, pleaded guilty to money laundering involving especially large sums, an offense that originally carried a possible sentence of nine to twelve years. In exchange for the plea, the court imposed a reduced sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Garibashvili was also fined one million Georgian lari. Assets obtained through criminal activity, including large sums of cash seized during a search of his residence, will be confiscated by the state. According to his lawyer, authorities will additionally seize two vehicles.

The Prosecutor’s Office announced the plea agreement at 15:35 local time on Jan. 12, stating that Garibashvili had fully admitted guilt and accepted the terms of the deal. The court immediately approved the prosecution’s motion.

Garibashvili has been taken into custody and transferred to a penitentiary facility, his defense confirmed.

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Garibashvili is one of several former senior Georgian Dream officials facing corruption-related investigations, but he is the first high-profile figure to reach a plea deal since the government launched what it has described as a 2025 “anti-corruption purge.”

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His lawyer, Mikheil Shakulashvili, emphasized that the case does not involve abuse of official authority, describing it instead as a financial crime. According to the defense, Garibashvili admitted to failing to declare income derived from the wine industry, which formed the basis of the remaining charge.

Speaking to journalists outside the courthouse, Shakulashvili said that Garibashvili retains the same rights as any other inmate, including eligibility for early release, parole, or a presidential pardon.

Asked whether President Mikheil Kavelashvili might grant a pardon, the lawyer responded cautiously: “Anything is possible, but at this stage he has been sentenced to five years and will serve his term. What happens in the future, I cannot say.” He added that no request for a pardon has been submitted.

Irakli Garibashvili, who served two separate terms as prime minister of Georgia, has been a central figure in the ruling Georgian Dream party. He is often described by analysts as one of the engineers of Georgia’s anti-Western turn and blamed NATO expansion for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

His conviction marks a significant moment in Georgia’s domestic politics, as the country continues to face scrutiny from international partners regarding judicial independence and the fight against high-level corruption.

As well as Garibashvili, former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili will face up to 15 years of imprisonment in a bribery case.