Tbilisi court orders pre-trial detention for ex-defence minister He faces up to 12 years over corruption

Tbilisi City Court has ordered pre-trial detention for former Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burjuladze, who faces corruption allegations.

The decision was made by Judge Ekaterine Barbakadze, in line with the prosecution’s request. The defence had sought Burjuladze’s release on bail set at 100,000 GEL (over $37,000), Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

Burjuladze was detained by the State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) on September 11. According to investigators, he, along with several senior Ministry of Defence officials and a relative, created a non-competitive procurement process for an MRI machine. As a result, the equipment was purchased for 3.94 million GEL (around $1.5 million), significantly above the market price of 2.6 million GEL (approximately $0.9 million).

Investigators also found that in January 2025, Burjuladze purchased a plot of land with a house in Spain for more than €0.5 million to conceal illicit funds. In December 2024, his family drew up a fictitious property donation agreement in Georgia to mask the origin of the money. Burjuladze failed to declare the Spanish property in his asset declarations.

The former minister faces charges under Georgian criminal law for legalisation of illegal income and abuse of official powers, carrying a potential sentence of up to 12 years in prison.

Burjuladze served as Defence Minister from February 2021 until his resignation in February 2024. In July, the SSG also detained his former deputy, Georgi Khainadze, and a relative of Burjuladze, as well as a former ministry employee, over the embezzlement of more than 1.3 million GEL (around $500,000) in public funds.

By Khagan Isayev