Ex-official detained as investigation uncovers massive highway fraud in Georgia

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has arrested Levan Kupatashvili, the former Deputy Chairman of the Roads Department, in connection with the collapse of a bridge on the Samtredia–Grigoleti highway.

The announcement was made by Malkhaz Kapanadze, head of the Department for Combating Corruption Crimes, during a briefing at the Prosecutor’s Office, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

Kapanadze stated that criminal proceedings have been initiated against five individuals for abuse of official authority, document forgery, large-scale embezzlement, and fraudulent appropriation of state funds.

The investigation revealed that in 2018, the Roads Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure signed a contract with the construction company Akkord to build an 11.5-kilometre section of the Samtredia–Grigoleti highway, including associated bridge crossings. Supervision of the project was assigned to a joint consortium of four international companies, while the Roads Department was responsible for daily on-site oversight.

However, the probe found that no authorized experts from the supervisory consortium were present in Georgia, and no actual monitoring of the construction took place—a fact known to the Roads Department. Despite this, forged performance reports were approved by Kupatashvili and falsely verified by an international expert who was not in the country.

The investigation further revealed that payments were made for unexecuted or substandard work. Kupatashvili facilitated the transfer of 1.17 million GEL  ($432,849) to the foreign expert, while the contractor fraudulently obtained 3.86 million GEL ($1,4 million). Following the bridge’s collapse in February 2023, an additional 12 million GEL ($4,43 million) was spent on repairs, bringing the total financial damage to the state to over 16 million GEL ($5,9 million).

Kupatashvili faces charges of abuse of power, embezzlement, and official misconduct, offenses carrying a potential sentence of up to 11 years in prison. The director and project managers of Akkord are charged with fraud, forgery, and embezzlement, with potential sentences of up to nine years, while the chief engineer of the international consortium has been charged in absentia with aiding in the fraudulent appropriation of funds and document forgery.

The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed it will request pre-trial detention for all accused individuals and emphasized that the investigation remains ongoing to determine whether other officials or companies were involved in the scheme.

By Vafa Guliyeva