Georgian Dream government Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze says that Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze had no involvement in the corruption case uncovered at the Tbilisi Kindergarten Management Agency.
“I have information that Kakha Kaladze had absolutely no involvement in this matter. According to the preliminary findings of the investigation, Kakha Kaladze had no connection to this case whatsoever. It is possible that specific crimes may be uncovered, for example in a particular state enterprise, which could even relate to a period when I myself was prime minister, but it is also possible that I was not aware of this,” Kobakhidze said.
Kobakhidze added that he has intervened wherever information about corruption has emerged.
“If there is corruption, first you need to find out about it, and wherever we found out, we intervened. This is our approach. Naturally, all state institutions should work according to the same approach,” he said.
Former head of the Tbilisi City Hall Kindergarten Management Agency, Kakha Gvantseladze, along with several agency employees, has been charged in a corruption case in which former head of the State Security Service, Grigol Liluashvili, is also mentioned. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Gvantseladze received especially large sums of money in the form of bribes, so called kickbacks, from business entities in exchange for signing procurement contracts for kindergartens. The prosecution claims that Grigol Liluashvili provided protection for Gvantseladze, while employees of the agency’s financial accounting, auditing, and monitoring units were involved in the criminal scheme.
Mayor Kakha Kaladze has acknowledged that he appointed Gvantseladze as head of the kindergarten agency but says he cannot be held responsible for his misconduct.
“Yes, the kindergarten agency is under our authority, and Kakha Gvantseladze was appointed to this position by me. Many employees were appointed by me. I am the mayor of the capital, and the city administration employs around 30,000 people. Do you really think I am responsible for every violation committed by every employee? If I had been aware of this, there would have been a response. I have repeatedly warned employees, including during government meetings, that no violation or unlawful action would go without consequences,” Kaladze said.