Juansher Burchuladze

Juansher Burchuladze, who served as Georgia’s Minister of Defense from 2021 to 2024, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Tbilisi City Court on April 23, 2026. He was found guilty of abuse of official authority and large-scale money laundering. The court found that Burchuladze orchestrated a scheme to inflate the purchase price of an MRI machine for a military hospital, causing approximately 1.33 million GEL in damages to the state. Additionally, he was convicted of laundering 1.59 million GEL in illicit income by using fictitious property deals to conceal a 544,000 euro real estate purchase in Spain. Beyond the prison sentence and a two-year ban from public office, the court ordered the confiscation of assets including properties in Spain and the Tskneti settlement. Burchuladze’s former deputy, Giorgi Khaindrava, and his brother-in-law, Vasil Mkheidze, each received eight-year sentences for their roles in the embezzlement scheme. Burchuladze maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.