Former Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined GEL1mn (roughly $370,000), after pleading guilty to charges of large-scale money laundering.

The conviction marks the first time a senior figure from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has been jailed, indicating a dramatic escalation in the authorities’ anti-corruption drive that has also coincided with a sweeping crackdown on political opponents.

“A plea agreement has been reached with Georgia’s former prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili, under which he has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment,” the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office announced on 12 January.

Garibashvili served twice as prime minister – from 2013 to 2015 and again from 2021 to 2024 – and was one of the closest allies of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party and widely regarded as Georgia’s most de facto ruler.

After stepping down as prime minister in early 2024, Garibashvili became chairman of the ruling party before leaving GD and politics altogether in April 2025.

He was formally charged with serious money laundering in October 2025 under Article 194 of the Georgian criminal code, which pertains to the legalisation of illegal proceeds in especially large amounts.

At the time, Georgia’s State Security Service said Garibashvili had admitted to receiving illegal income over several years. Prosecutors also accused him of submitting false asset declarations to disguise the origin of the funds.

In addition to the prison sentence, on January 12 the court ordered the confiscation of $6.5mn cash and valuables seized during police searches of Garibashvili’s residence in October. Investigators said the assets were obtained through criminal activity.

The investigation into the former prime minister unfolded amid a broader campaign targeting former officials and business figures linked to the GD party.

In December 2025, authorities arrested another senior figure, former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili, on bribery charges. Liluashvili, who served until April 2025, faces a possible sentence of 11 to 15 years in prison.

GD has described the cases as part of a genuine anti-corruption drive, insisting that no one is above the law.

Critics, however, argue the prosecutions expose internal power struggles within the ruling party and amount to selective justice rather than systemic reform.

These developments have taken place alongside a wider crackdown on the opposition. Georgian Dream has jailed most of the country’s major opposition figures, arrested anti-government protesters, and launched legal efforts to ban the country’s largest opposition parties.