Former Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, accused of abuse of office and legalization of illegal income, says the charges against him are “absurd.”
Juansher Burchuladze says in a published letter that the law enforcement agency’s information that he did not include a house purchased in Spain in his tax declaration is a lie.
The former Defense Minister hopes that “the injustice will end as soon as possible.”
“Since my arrest has caused big and mixed reactions in society, I would like to clarify the absurdity of the charges brought against me at this stage.
The fact that the law enforcement agency is providing information to the public through the media that I did not include the house I purchased in Spain in my declaration is a lie. The obligation to reflect my property status in the declaration included the year 2024. In response to a question on this, the prosecutor also tried to mislead the media and the public and replied that “Burchuladze filled out the declaration in March,” however, he did not indicate the mandatory period for reflecting information in the declaration, which was January 1, 2025. This was not only a publicly voiced false accusation, but also a violation of fundamental rights. I left the post of Minister of Defense in February 2024 and in 2025 I filled out the declaration on income for 2024, at which time I was guided by the Law “On Filling Out the Declaration”. The house in Spain was purchased by the family in 2025.
As for the purchase of the aforementioned property, allegedly through the legalization of illegal income – my family members and I provided detailed information in the testimonies given at the beginning of the investigation about the sale of the property that covered the cost of the aforementioned house. After I left the post of Minister of Defense, the family sold 3 real estate properties, only two of which together provided the purchase of the disputed property. My family owned the property 15 years ago, including two apartments in Tbilisi, which today have other owners and users.
I hope that this injustice will end as soon as possible,” Burchuladze writes in a letter released by his lawyer Mariam Shatirishvili.
